1. health and fitness
2. disorders
3. mental disorder
4. a.d.d.

SAMPLE CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION TO
SPECIAL EDUCATION:
Making a Difference, 6/e
© 2007
Deborah Deutsch Smith
ISBN 0-205-47469-1
Visit www.ablongman.com/replocator to contact your local Allyn & Bacon/Longman representative.
SAMPLE CHAPTER 5
Learning Disabilities
The pages of this Sample Chapter may
have slight variations in final published form.
ALLYN & BACON/LONGMAN ❘
www.ablongman.com
Edouard Manet, Claude Monet with his wife in his floating studio. 1874. Scala/Art Resource, NY. Photograph of
the artist: Felix Nadar, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. © Reunion des Musees Nationaux/Art Resource, NY.
Edouard Manet was born in Paris in 1832. His father’s
ambitions for him were to carry on the family tradition and
become a lawyer. Despite outraged protests, Manet became one of
the most famous impressionist painters of his day. Possibly he
turned to art because of his difficulties at school. One headmaster considered him to be “feeble” another referred to him as “distracted,” not “very studious,” and “mediocre” (Schneider, 1968).
If his father had not been a highly respected community leader,
Manet would have been dismissed from school. To keep him from a career as an artist, his
father got him a commission in the navy, but Manet failed the naval examination (Bolton,
1989) and turned to art. In the 1800s, the special education category of learning disabilities had not been identified. Whether Manet actually had learning disability or not cannot be verified. Regardless, from all accounts, academic learning was clearly a challenge
for him.
5
Learning Disabilities
“
It’s not a lot of fun to talk about your handicaps, except in golf.
”
Charles Schwab
We have all had the experience: No matter how hard we try, we have trouble understanding the information presented. In school we may sit through lectures and not understand the messages the instructor is trying to
deliver. We may not understand the reading material for a particular class. We find it impossible to organize our
thoughts to write a coherent essay or report. Sometimes we stumble over words and are unable to convey our
thoughts, feelings, or knowledge. And occasionally we are uneasy and uncomfortable with other people. For most of
us, these situations are infrequent. For people with learning disabilities (LD), however, one or more of these situations are commonplace. Learning disabilities is a condition that, despite the lack of other problems, such as mental retardation or emotional or behavioral disorders, causes significant learning problems, most often in areas related
to reading and writing (Fuchs, Fuchs, Mathes et al., 2001). As you learned in the previous chapter, what often begins
as a language problem in the preschool years becomes a reading problem by third
grade and evolves into a pervasive academic problem as the demands of the curriculum increase through middle school and high school. In part because of the
Chapter Objectives
characteristics of this disability and in part as a result of academic failure, many of
After studying this chapter, you
these individuals have difficulty achieving social competence as well (Bryan,
will be able to:
Burstein, & Ergul, 2004). Despite all of these challenges, many individuals overcome their learning disabilities. Such success happens more often when they
1 List the key features of the
receive highly specialized, intensive, individualized instructional programs as early
IDEA ’04 definition of learning
as possible. Even so, the impact of a learning disability usually lasts a lifetime
disabilities.
(Goldberg et al., 2003).
2 Discuss the different types of
learning disabilities.
Where We’ve Been . . .
What’s on the Horizon?
Debate and controversy have surrounded the field of learning disabilities from its
inception and continue today (Hammill, 1990; Kirk, 1977; Vaughn & Fuchs,
2003). Parents, professionals, and policymakers continue to ask questions: What
is the best way to identify and meet the learning needs of students with learning
disabilities? How many students truly have this condition? How can services be
delivered as early as possible? All of these questions lead to an overriding one:
How should this disability be defined? These questions cannot be answered in
this chapter because they are not yet resolved. However, we can come to an
understanding of those issues that are the basis for them. Before learning about
current thinking on these topics, let’s see how the field of learning disabilities
began and explore the path it has taken to the present.
3 Explain how an individual’s
response to intervention (RTI)
is assessed.
4 Explain what is meant by the
practice of “early intervening,”
and explain why it holds great
promise.
5 Describe two validated prac-
tices that make a difference in
the learning outcomes of students with disabilities.
157
158
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Historical Context
learning disabilities (LD) A
condition that causes significant
learning problems, most often
related to reading and writing; a
disability of unexpected underachievement that is typically
resistant to treatment
process/product debate
Argument about whether perceptual training or direct (explicit)
instruction is the more effective
way to teach reading
On April 6, 1963, Professor Sam Kirk and others coined the term learning disabilities at a meeting of parents and professionals in Chicago. The nation’s public
schools have since experienced an explosion in the numbers of students identified,
special teachers hired, and services offered. The effort began in elementary schools
and was later extended to high schools. It continues to expand today, as more special programs for postsecondary students and adults with disabilities are developed.
The study of learning disabilities, however, put down roots long before 1963
(Hammill, 1990; Wiederholt, 1974). During the 1920s and 1930s, Samuel Orton, a
specialist in neurology, developed theories and remedial reading techniques for
children with severe reading problems, whom he called “dyslexic” and believed to
be brain-damaged. In the 1930s, Helen Davidson studied letter “reversals”—writing
some letters (such as b, d, q, and g) backwards—a problem consistently observed in
many students with learning disabilities (Davidson, 1934, 1935). In the 1930s and
40s, Sam Kirk, who worked at the Wayne County School (you will learn more about
this school in Chapter 6), helped to develop a set of word drills and other teaching
procedures he referred to throughout his career. In 1961 he and his colleagues
published the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA), which sought to identify
individuals’ strengths, weaknesses, learning styles, and learning preferences
(whether they learned better by seeing or by hearing information presented). This
test was used for many years to identify students with learning disabilities. Also in
the 1960s, Marianne Frostig developed materials designed to improve students’
visual perception, which is the ability to understand information that is seen. Her
notion was that if visual perceptual skills were enhanced, reading abilities would
also show improvement (Frostig, 1978).
The 1970s saw the field of learning disabilities embroiled in heated debate, and
at the heart of the controversy was what approach for treatment of learning disabilities was most effective. In what was called the process/product debate, one
group promoted instruction directed at improving students’ perceptual abilities to
improve their academic performance (e.g., reading). The other group argued that
directly teaching academic skills (e.g., explicitly teaching students to read) is the
best approach. The dispute was resolved when Don Hammill and Steve Larsen’s
research analysis showed that perceptual approaches were seldom effective in
teaching academic skills but that direct-instruction techniques do make a difference (Hammill & Larsen, 1974).
Possibly more than any other disability, fads and invalidated practices are promoted, often through the press, to solve problems associated with learning disabilities. For example, one fad suggested having students with learning disabilities,
regardless of their ages, use crawling exercises to “re-pattern” or re-train their
brains. Others have claimed that special diets or plants on students’ desks improve
academic and behavioral performances. Still others blamed fluorescent lighting for
learning disabilities. Most of these claims were backed up by very little scientific evidence of effectiveness (Keogh, 1974). Such promotion of invalidated practices is
the major reasons for today’s emphasis on the use of scientifically validated or
evidence-based practices; proposed interventions must be thoroughly tested
through rigorous research (Soltes, 2002).
Challenges That Learning Disabilities Present
Individuals with learning disabilities whose learning problems do not receive early
attention can have serious, life-long challenges to face (National Institutes of
Health, 2005). Early, intensive intervention makes a difference, and it is imperative
that young children and their families get services as early as possible. Just like other
individuals with disabilities, those with learning disabilities range widely in abilities.
Some students have a mild learning disability. With direct assistance, they access the
general education curriculum successfully and take advantage of postsecondary
www.mylabschool.com
• Where We’ve Been . . . What’s on the Horizon?
159
Candace Cordiella in the Spotlight
Today Candace Cordiella
is a well-known advocate for
and expert on the educational rights of children with learning disabilities, but this important
career wasn’t Candace’s first. She was
a successful executive in the fashion
industry when her daughter, then a
second grader, was diagnosed with
learning disabilities and related language impairments. It was at this
point that Candace decided that she
should “find out what this whole special education thing was about.” And,
boy, did she!
It all started when her daughter’s
school district decided to serve all students with learning disabilities in general education classes and close their
separate special education classrooms
for these students. But the district
made the switch without informing or
consulting with parents. Needless to
say, many parents banned together,
learning a lot about advocacy and
also becoming a powerful network.
Because she lives in the Washington,
DC, area, the next step for Candace
was almost predictable. She recalls
her early days of being mentored by
other mom’s of kids with disabilities:
“One day we were talking about my
little kid in my little school, and the
next day they were saying, okay, we’re
all going to Congress tomorrow and
you’re coming along.” Candace was
suddenly directing her talents and
understanding of the business world
to the business of educating students
with disabilities. Convinced that parents need to be informed—armed
with knowledge—she was instrumental in creating the award-winning Web
site ldonline. Supported by public television in the Washington, DC, area,
ldonline was the first (and is by far
the most visited) site about learning
disabilities on the Internet. She serves
on many national boards, mentors
the next generation of
parent-advocates, and has recently
started a new organization and Web
site, The Advocacy Institute. And, oh
yes, when IDEA ’04 was being written
by Congress, Candace was on the Hill
safeguarding the hard-won rights of
students with disabilities. Candace
and parents like her make a real difference not only for their own children, but for everyone else’s too.
educational opportunities. Those with severe learning disabilities require intensive,
sustained remediation and support throughout their school years and often into
adulthood. All students with learning disabilities learn differently from their classmates without disabilities, and in many cases these students learn differently from
each other. Some have questioned whether they are simply low achievers—students without disabilities whose academic performance is below that of their classmates. But it is now clear: These students’ reading achievement differs dramatically
from students without disabilities as well as from those who might be considered low
achievers (Fuchs et al., 2002). Achieving reading fluency (being able to read quickly
and correctly) and developing reading proficiency (reading efficiently with understanding) are particularly difficult for these individuals. Problems learning to read
compound as students progress through school and independent reading becomes
not just an academic goal but an expectation of the curriculum. Once this cycle is
established, all aspects of academic performance are affected, and then school failure contributes to feelings of inadequacy and lack of self-confidence. All of this
underscores the importance of early intervention, new ways to identify and bring
services to those individuals as quickly as possible. How to accomplish this response
is the greatest challenge facing professionals, families, and the individuals involved.
Advocates for students with learning disabilities help ensure that the services these
students require are available. Candace Cordiella is one of those special people who
make things happen. The story of her path from professional, to mom, to advocate
(see Candace Cordiella in the Spotlight) is fascinating and illustrates that each of us is
capable of making a difference in the lives of many.
low achievers All students
who experience school failure
and poor academic achievement
160
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Making a Difference
Charles Schwab and the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation
Most highly successful businessmen don’t reveal what might be construed as vulnerability. Clearly, it just isn’t considered good business sense. In highly competitive
marketplaces, any sign of weakness could be a signal for a takeover or a “hostile
action.” At the same time, most Americans are not comfortable openly talking
about disabilities, particularly their own. And learning disabilities are not readily
“visible”—not immediately signaled by a cane, wheelchair, glasses, or hearing aid.
Such disabilities are not even understood by many of the individuals affected or by
their families. The result is that too often, individuals with learning disabilities have
to struggle on their own and figure it out by themselves, with little opportunity to
profit from the guidance of people who have successfully compensated for or overcome the effects of their learning disabilities.
One highly successful businessman decided to break with tradition and speak
out about the challenges he faced in school, and others are now joining him, serving as role models for individuals with learning disabilities and providing assistance to parents, teachers, and kids. Charles Schwab, the billionaire who founded
the discount stock brokerage house, has faced the challenges of learning disabilities his whole life. His academic strengths were math and science, but he struggled
with reading and all of its related subjects. Charles Schwab demonstrated his
resilience and innovative thinking from a young age when he discovered that classic comic books, such as Moby Dick, provided an easier way to read “novels”
assigned in English classes (Askman, 2005). Despite his reading problems, Charles
Schwab persevered through college and graduate school, earning a BS and an
MBA from Stanford University by focusing on his strengths—subjects related to
numbers, such as economics. Two years after graduating from Stanford, he started
an investment advisory newsletter, and a few years later, he founded his own brokerage house in San Francisco. Because he thought that the stock market should
be accessible to everyone, he initiated the concept of the discount brokerage firm
(Jones, 2003).
After discovering that his son had a learning disability, Charles Schwab and his
wife, Helen, decided to help other families who struggled with this invisible disability. They started Schwab Learning, which operates two Web sites—one
for parents (www.SchwabLearning.org) and one for kids (www.SparkTop.org™).
SchwabLearning.org gives parents the answers to the million-and-one questions
they have when their child has learning disabilities. The site addresses a parent’s
practical needs with information about IEPS, behavior issues, and the like; it also
provides emotional support so parents know they are not alone in this journey.
SparkTop.org is a place where kids with learning disabilities can learn about how
their brains work, feel good about themselves, get answers to their questions, and
enjoy the company of other kids just like
them. The site reassures kids with LD that
they’re just as smart as other kids. They may
struggle with reading or writing or math,
but there are lots of things they’re good at.
Charles Schwab took an invisible disability and made it okay to be visible.
To see how these two Web sites make a
difference in the lives of teenagers with
learning disabilities and parents of children with learning disabilities of all ages,
check out: www.schwablearning.org, and
www.sparktop.org
• Learning Disabilities Defined
www.mylabschool.com
161
Learning Disabilities Defined
Professionals and parents use the term learning disabilities to describe a condition of
unexpected underachievement—academic performance significantly below
what would be predicted from the individual’s talents and potential shown in other
areas. This category includes 5.4 percent of all students and almost half of those
identified by the schools as having a disability (U.S. Department of Education,
2005a). The federal government and almost every state use the term specific learning disabilities, and a similar definition (see Table 5.1), to describe this condition
(Müller & Markowitz, 2004).
Regardless of the definition used, there always seems to be dissatisfaction
(Elksnin et al., 2001; Kirk, 1977). Although some of the disagreement is due to differing philosophies and theories about the nature of the condition, most concerns
stem from more practical problems:
• Delay in delivering needed services to students
• Overwhelming number of students identified with learning disabilities
• Inconsistency of characteristics observed in those identified
Before turning our attention to the types of learning disabilities, let’s briefly
consider these concerns. First, before the passage of IDEA ’04, nearly all states
insisted that students identified as having learning disabilities demonstrate a discrepancy between their potential (score on an intelligence test) and their performance (academic achievement) and that this discrepancy be significant (at
least two years behind their expected grade level). So students waited—sometimes for years—to get help, even though their teachers knew they had a problem. The discrepancy requirement is one reason why so many students are identified in third grade: By then their struggles with school work are demonstrated
by scores on achievement tests indicating first-grade performance. The second
concern stems from the size of this special education category; over half of all students receiving special education services are identified as having learning disabilities. Third, students with learning disabilities express unique learning patterns. Some have problems in every academic area, some have problems only in
reading or in math, and some have additional problems with social skills. In other
words, this disability represents a heterogeneous group of learners; that is,
individuals identified with this disability exhibit a wide range of strengthens and
abilities, approach learning in a variety of ways, and respond to interventions
inconsistently. The result is that no single treatment, explanation, or accommodation is uniformly effective. Regardless, let’s think about some types, or common
patterns, of problem areas that often define learning disabilities for the individuals involved.
General Unexpected Underachievement
Some students experience difficulties with all academic performance; they are
behind the academic achievement of their classmates in every subject. Low educational performance not only describes students with learning disabilities, of
course. It can also include low-achieving students who may or may not have disabilities. But many experts are certain that learning disabilities are different from
low achievement (Kavale & Forness, 2000). Whereas mental retardation, poor
motivation, or poor teaching might explain low achievement, learning disabilities
probably reflect deficits in the ability to process information or remember it
(Torgeson, 2002).
unexpected underachievement A defining characteristic
of learning disabilities; poor
school performance cannot be
explained by other disabilities or
limited potential
heterogeneous Exhibiting
great variety, such as a wide
range of strengths and abilities
in a group
162
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Table 5.1 • Definitions of Learning Disabilities
Source
Definition
Federal
Government1
Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes
involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an
imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations,
including such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not include learning problems that are
primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, mental retardation, emotional
disturbance, or environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantages.
National
Institutes of
Health (NIH)2
Learning disabilities are disorders that affect the ability to understand or use spoken or written
language, do mathematical calculations, coordinate movements, or direct attention. Although
learning disabilities occur in very young children, the disorders are usually not recognized until
the child reaches school age.
Sources: 1From 34 CFR Parts 300 and 303, Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities and the Early Intervention
Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities; Proposed Regulations (pp 312–313), U.S. Department of Education, 2005b, Federal
Register, Washington, DC; and 2“What is learning disabilities?” NINDS Learning Disabilities Information Page by National Institutes of
Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2005, retrieved from www.ninds.nih.gov
Reading/Learning Disabilities
Most commonly, students identified as having learning disabilities have much lower
reading abilities than all other students (Fuchs, Fuchs, Mathes et al., 2002). The
term reading/learning disabilities is used when the student’s reading abilities
are significantly below those of classmates without disabilities and significantly
below what is expected on the basis of the student’s other abilities. Reading difficulty is the most common reason for these students’ referrals to special education.
Because reading and writing are intimately related, most of these students also have
problems with written communication (Troia & Graham, 2004). Obviously, reading
and writing are important skills; in school, students must be able to read information from a variety of texts and write using varying formats. As the complexity of
academic tasks increases, students who are not proficient in reading and writing
cannot keep pace with the increasing academic expectations of school settings.
Reading/learning disabilities can cause pervasive academic problems because
reading skills are increasingly important as the curriculum becomes more
advanced. To understand printed text requires proficiency in a number of skills:
reading words, comprehending language, and accessing background language
(Jenkins & O’Connor, 2002). Students must be able to decode words and read with
enough fluency to gain information at a rate close to that of their classmates. These
students are slow in acquiring the necessary skills, and they acquire these skills differently than students without reading disabilities (Compton, 2002).
Mathematics/Learning Disabilities
reading/learning disabilities Condition where a student’s
learning disability is most significant in reading
mathematics/learning
disabilities Condition where a
student’s learning disability is
most significant in areas related
to mathematics
More than 50 percent of students with learning disabilities also have difficulties
with mathematics (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2001). Mathematics/learning disabilities
are indicated when performance in mathematics is substantially below what is
expected on the basis of the student’s other abilities. Relatively few students identified as having learning disabilities have only mathematics disabilities; for most, this
difficulty is part of their overwhelming and pervasive underachievement (Jordon &
Hanich, 2003). Students with mathematics disabilities have problems that stem
from their difficulties retrieving information from long-term memory; they have
trouble remembering basic number facts (Robinson, Menchetti, & Torgeson,
www.mylabschool.com
• Characteristics
163
2002). Other students’ mathematics disabilities result from
their inability to solve multistep problems, such as borrowing
in subtraction, computing long division, and solving word
problems (Bryant, Bryant, & Hammill, 2000; Bryant,
Hartman, & Kim, 2003). Because math problem solving
places demands on both reading and information processing
skills, this area of the mathematics curriculum can be challenging for both teachers and students.
Resistant to Treatment
Consensus is growing about some important differences
among individuals with and without learning disabilities:
Those with learning disabilities are resistant to treatment;
they do not profit from the instruction typically used in general education classes (Gresham, 2002; Vaughn & Fuchs,
2003). The evidence is mounting that these students do not
Many students with learning disabilities experience
learn at the same rate or in the same ways as their classmates
considerable challenges keeping up with their classmates.
(Fuchs, Fuchs, Thompson et al., 2002). These students require
With explicit and sustained intervention, the results for these
intensive, individualized instruction. The premise is that if a
students can be outstanding.
student receives instruction or intervention typically used in
general education programs and does not respond or improve
sufficiently, then more intensive intervention explicitly directed toward the skill to be
learned is necessary. As you will learn in the Assessment section of this chapter, the
concept that learning disabilities are resistant to treatment is being incorporated into
new identification procedures for learning disabilities outlined by IDEA ’04.
Characteristics
Unexpected underachievement and being resistant to treatment are coming to be
thought of as defining characteristics of learning disabilities (Kavale & Forness, 1996;
Vaughn & Fuchs, 2003). Even so, the feature cited most often across these students is
probably their heterogeneity—their remarkable individuality (Bradley, Danielson, &
Hallahan, 2002). And yet, despite their unique traits, some characteristics are commonly seen with learning disabilities; these are listed in Table 5.2. In addition, more
general characteristics seem to be at the root of the problems these individuals face.
In order to consider how we can make a difference and improve these students’
results, let’s explore each of these commonly observed characteristics:
•
•
•
•
•
Holding negative attributions
Being nonstrategic
Being unable to generalize or transfer learning
Processing information inefficiently or incorrectly
Possessing poor social skills
resistant to treatment A
Negative Attributions
Motivation and attribution are related. Motivation is the inner drive that causes
individuals to be energized and directed in their behavior. Motivation can be
explained as a trait (a need to succeed, a need not to fail, a sustained interest in a
topic) or as a temporary state of mind (preoccupation with a test or class presentation tomorrow, a passing interest in a topic). Attributions are self-explanations
about the reasons for one’s success or failure. Differences in motivation and attributions may account for differences in the way people approach tasks and
for differences in their success with those tasks (Ring & Reetz, 2000). Assuming
defining characteristic of learning disabilities; validated methods typically applied in general
education settings are not adequate to bring about sufficient
learning
attributions Explanations that
individuals give themselves for
their successes or failures
164
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Table 5.2 • Characteristics of Learning Disabilities
Academic
Social
Behavioral Style
Unexpected underachievement
Immature
Inattentive
Resistant to treatment
Socially unacceptable
Distractible
Difficult to teach
Misinterprets social and nonverbal cues
Hyperactive
Inability to solve problems
Makes poor decisions
Impulsive
Uneven academic abilities
Victimized
Poorly coordinated
Inactive learning style
Unable to predict social consequences
Disorganized
Poor basic language skills
Unable to follow social conventions (manners)
Unmotivated
Poor basic reading and decoding skills
Rejected
Dependent
Inefficient information processing abilities
Naïve
Inability to generalize
Shy, withdrawn, insecure
Dependent
learned helplessness
Usually a result of repeated failure or excessive control by others; individuals become less willing to attempt tasks and less
able to believe that their actions
can result in success
responsibility for success is an internal attribution in which individuals understand
the relationships among effort, task persistence, ability, and interest.
By contrast, year after year of frustration and failure at school can negatively
affect students’ motivation and convince them that there is nothing they can do to
be successful. Students can develop a negative attitude and come to believe that
their failure is a result of lack of ability, rather than a signal to work harder or ask
for help. This cycle can even lead students to believe that external factors—luck,
extra help, the teacher giving them a break, or a classmate doing them a favor—are
the reasons for whatever successes they do have (Carlson et al., 2002). When people expect to fail, they can also become too dependent on others—and all too ready
to just give up. This learned helplessness increases the likelihood of poor performance. Students who expect failure are less likely to be motivated to learn or to
expend the effort it takes to learn (Pearl, 1982; Switzky & Schultz, 1988). They can
appear to others as “passive” or not actively involved in their learning. They do not
ask questions, seek help, or read related material to learn more. These characteristics compound their disabilities.
By comparing low-achieving students’ motivation and attributions with those
of high-achieving students, we can better understand the concepts of attribution
and learned helplessness. Let’s look at a classroom situation, such as writing a
social studies term paper, to see how students’ motivation affects the way they
approach the task. High achievers, when given the assignment of writing a term
paper on, say, the Revolutionary War, approach the task with confidence, knowing
that they are capable of producing a thorough and well-written paper. They realize that if they read their textbook and other materials available at the library, they
will know enough about the topic to prepare the paper. Because of past successes,
they know that making an effort results in success. Therefore, these students will
proofread their term papers and even add extras (such as maps and diagrams) to
the final product. Low-achieving students with and without disabilities, in contrast,
do not approach this assignment with much vigor. They seem overwhelmed by the
assignment and complain that it is too difficult. These children believe that it is
useless to ask for assistance, spend time in the library, or read extra materials.
www.mylabschool.com
• Characteristics
165
Instead, they write a short and incomplete term paper that is probably not developed with care or proofread. Teachers can turn this situation around! They can
help students overcome these problems by involving them in the learning process,
responding positively, praising them, promoting mastery, and creating a challenging and stimulating instructional environment (Sexton, Harris, & Graham, 1998).
Teachers can point out the relationship between effort and accomplishment and
thereby change students’ negative attributions into positive ones that lead to success. A new series of books about the adventures of a group of middle school girls
can help teachers in this effort. One of those upbeat Beacon Street Girls, Meave, has
reading/learning disabilities.
Being Nonstrategic
Approaching learning in an organized manner leads to efficient and effective learning. Not paying attention to the important features of a learning task or not structuring one’s learning is a problem observed among many students with learning
disabilities (Deshler, 2005). Applying strategies for organizing information (such as
the graphic organizers and content enhancements described on pages 144–146 in
Chapter 4) can help them remember content and study more efficiently
(Boulineau et al., 2004; Masterpieri et al., 2003). Being proficient in the use of
thinking skills—classifying, associating, and sequencing—also helps students
become more strategic learners. Classifying enables the learner to categorize and
group items together in terms of the characteristics they have in common. Usually,
people remember more items in a list if they approach the task by chunking, or
organizing information by groups. For example, if you forget your grocery list and
are already at the store, you might try to remember what items you need by thinking about groups of items. You might recall that potatoes and corn were on the list
when you think of vegetables and that ice cream, pizza, and TV dinners were on the
list when you think of frozen foods. Associating means seeing the relationships
that exist among and between different knowledge bases. By associating facts or
ideas, the mind is able to find the “common denominators” (for example, softness
or hardness, style of painting) and connections that link units of information.
Sequencing information puts units of information in order along some dimension. For example, physical items can be sorted and sequenced by size, weight, or
volume. Facts, events, and ideas can be sequenced by time, importance, or complexity. With instruction and practice, these thinking skills can be learned and
developed into useful tools for learning that help students approach learning tasks
more purposefully.
Inability to Generalize
Most students with learning disabilities are unable to generalize—that is, to transfer their learning to novel situations or extend their learning of one skill to similar
skills (Rivera & Smith, 1997). For example, they might apply a newly learned study
skill in history class but not in English class. Or a child might master borrowing in
subtraction when a zero appears in the units column but not apply that rule when
there is a zero in the tens column as well. Long-standing research has shown that
some teaching methods can actually interfere with students learning the concept of
generalization (Ellis, 1986). For example, the overuse of feedback on performance
(knowledge of results) can reinforce dependency, learned helplessness, and learning inactivity. One way to encourage generalization is explicitly to make connections between familiar problems and those that are new or novel (Fuchs, Fuchs,
Mathes et al., 2002). And when teachers carefully broaden the categories—either
the skill or the situation—and point out similar features, students extend their
learning more readily. Thus, if a student knows how to solve subtraction problems
In the innovative new book
series Beacon Street Girls,
B*tween Productions
targets girls between the
ages of 9 to 13. The stories
focus on the adventures of
five teenage girls. Maeve, a
main character, said “I like
school but sometimes it’s
hard because I have
dyslexia. That’s ok, soon
enough I’ll be pursuing the
stage.” She and her friends
provide great role models.
classifying A thinking skill;
the ability to categorize items
or concepts by their common
characteristics
chunking A thinking skill to
aid memory; organizing information by groups or topics
associating A thinking skill;
the ability to see relationships
among different concepts or
knowledge bases
sequencing A thinking skill;
categorizing and putting items,
facts, or ideas in order along various dimensions
generalizing Transferring
learning from particular instances
to other environments, people,
times, or events
166
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
that require borrowing without zeros in the numerator, teachers should carefully
point out the similarities between problems that include zeros (500 ⫺ 354 = ?) and
those that do not (467 ⫺ 189 = ?).
Faulty Information Processing
Many people with learning disabilities have difficulty learning to read and write,
understanding things they are told, and even expressing themselves through oral
communication. To explain why, researchers are studying theories of learning
and then applying them to the way students with learning disabilities actually
learn. Many years ago, Janet Lerner created a scheme to help us understand the
information processing theory by comparing the human brain to a computer
(Lerner, 1993). In her concept (see Figure 5.1), the flow of information that
occurs when people are learning new skills begins with the input of information,
continues with the processing of that information, and ends with its output. Like
the computer, the human brain takes in information, processes that information
(makes associations, stores information, calls it up, acts upon it), and generates
responses from it.
Figure 5.1 • Information Processing Theory and Its Similarities
to the Computer System
The Computer System
INPUT DEVICES
Keyboard
Joystick
Graphic pad
Switches
Mouse
Touch Window
Voice recognition
The Human
Information Processing System
INPUT STIMULI
Auditory
Visual
Listening
Reading
Environmental
Touching
MEMORY
MEMORY (PROCESSING)
The brain
(cognitiveprocessing
system)
Central
Processing
Unit
(CPU)
OUTPUT DEVICES
Monitor screen
Printer
Braille printer
Speech synthesizer
OUTPUT DEVICES
Motor response
Behavior
Talking
Writing
Learning
Source: Janet Lerner, Learning Disabilities: Theories, Diagnosis, and Teaching Strategies, Sixth
Edition. Copyright © 1993 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Adapted with permission.
www.mylabschool.com
• Characteristics
167
Learning to understand the
“rules of the game” comes
with lots of practice and
experience. Teachers can
help students with learning
disabilities develop the
complex skills needed in
social situations by
arranging opportunities for
them to play and learn.
How can teachers help students process information? Some simple actions can
make a difference in how well students understand the task and can thereby
improve their academic performance:
• Repeat important information in different ways: “Remember to study for this
•
•
•
week’s exam. On Friday, you will have a test over Chapter 6 of your history book.”
Organize content systematically: Put information into sequential order
(“First the English raised taxes on the colonists. Then the Americans
protested. In Boston, they dumped the tea being delivered by boat into
the harbor.”)
Provide students with relevant information: “Fish have gills, scales, and fins.
Horses have _____, _____, and _____.”
Anchor content and assignments to students’ experiences and interests: On the list
for book reports, include books representing a variety of sports, hobbies,
adventures, biographies, mysteries, and characters from different cultures
and backgrounds
Poor Social Skills
Over 30 years ago, Tanis Bryan brought the challenges that many students with
learning disabilities face with social skills to the nation’s attention and expanded
our understanding of this disability beyond its effects on academic skills (Bryan,
1974). Deficits in social skills are now considered a common and defining characteristic of learning disabilities (Kavale & Mostert, 2004). Though not all individuals
with learning disabilities have problems with social skills, the great majority do
(Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001; Vaughn, Elbaum, & Boardman, 2001).
Specifically, about a quarter of them are average or above average in social skills
and social competence. For the other 75 percent of these individuals, problems
with social skills negatively influence their self-concept, their ability to make friends,
their interactions with others, and even the way they approach schoolwork (Bryan,
Burstein, & Ergul, 2004).
168
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
tips
for Classroom
Management
TEACHERS HELPING STUDENTS WITH LEARNING
DISABILITIES MAKE FRIENDS
Explicitly Teach
■ Rules of playground games
■ Comprehension of nonverbal expressions
■ Social conventions
■ When to terminate a conversation
■ How to ask permission to join an ongoing game
■ Sharing skills
Two general reasons account for these students’ difficulties developing social competence:
1 Relationships among learning disabilities, language
impairments, pragmatics, and social competence
2 The downward spiral of academic failure to positive
peer relationships
For some students, impairment in social skills is part of
their learning disability (Wiener, 2004). Those students
whose language impairment during the preschool years
hindered their developing pragmatics (for a review, see
pages 128 and 142 in Chapter 4) often have difficulty
understanding others’ nonverbal behavior and using language effectively in social situations (Olswang, Coggins, &
Timler, 2001). These students cannot understand nonverPair with a Class-Buddy
bal behaviors, such as facial expressions, and therefore do
■ Match students with similar interests
not comprehend other people’s emotional messages
■ Create opportunities
(Teglasi, Cohn, & Meshbesher, 2004). Remember, the rela■ Reward both members of the pair for working
tionship between social competence and language impairand playing together
ments is clear. Poor language skills impair the ability to
communicate, and communicative competence is necessary
■ Change pairs once a month
for social interaction (Elksnin & Elksnin, 2004). Social competence is related, in one way or another, to almost every
action and skill that people perform. Social competence is the ability to perceive and interpret social situations, generate appropriate social responses, and
interact with others. Thus the very nature of learning disabilities explains, in
part, why many students with learning disabilities have problems developing satisfactory social skills.
The second reason is directly related to these students’ academic failure. Poor
educational performance lowers self-esteem and self-confidence, which in turn
undermines the ability to make friends with classmates who are high achievers. And
so it continues: Poor social skills contribute to poor academic performance, and
experiencing school failure compounds the social issues the individual must confront (Elliott, Malecki & Demaray, 2001). Difficulty with social skills, coupled with
low achievement and distracting classroom behavior, influences the social status of
those with learning disabilities. Their peers see them as overly dependent, less
cooperative, and less socially adept (Kuhne & Wiener, 2000). They are rejected by
fellow students and are not included in games on the playground or in groups in
the classroom (Le Mare & de la Ronde, 2000; Norwicki, 2003). It is not surprising
that some students with learning disabilities prefer pull-out programs and do not
like inclusive classroom situations (Vaughn, Elbaum, & Boardman, 2001). Teachers
can make a real difference and help students with learning disabilities who also
experience social problems. Some ideas about how to take direct action are listed
in Tips for Classroom Management.
Signs of these problems begin early, during the preschool years, as these children experience strong feelings of loneliness and lack of friends (Bryan, Burstien,
& Ergul, 2004). Rejection and inadequate social skills persist through adolescence
(Le Mare & de La Ronde, 2000). During the later school years, these students do
not seek the support of peers or friends as do their classmates without disabilities,
so feelings of loneliness, rejection, and isolation persist. Of even more concern is
their tendency to be victimized—threatened, physically assaulted, or subjected to
social competence Being
theft of their belongings—more than their peers.
able to understand social situaThe use of social skills training programs, even though they sometimes have
tions and respond appropriately
limited
results, is strongly encouraged by researchers (Kavale & Mostert, 2004).
in them
www.mylabschool.com
• Prevalence
Experts recommend implementing programs that match the intervention to the
individual’s unique problem areas. For example, if a student has not acquired a
social skill, then modeling, coaching, practice, and specific feedback can make
development of the missing skill possible. Peer tutoring, reinforcement, and
contingencies that reward the entire class (those with and those without disabilities) can help to extend or generalize initial learning. Also, teachers can play an
instrumental role in reducing peer rejection by pairing classmates in areas of
mutual interest. For example, teachers might plan activities so that students with
and without learning disabilities who share common interests (sports, music,
hobbies) are assigned to work together on an academic task such as a social studies report.
Prevalence
Across the nation, policymakers and parents express great concern about the number of children identified by school personnel as having a learning disability (Finn,
Rotherham, & Hokanson, 2001; Vaughn & Fuchs, 2003). Three major issues are the
basis for concerns about the prevalence of learning disabilities.
1 Size: Nearly half of all students with disabilities are identified as having learning disabilities, and the number increases each year.
2 Cost: Special education costs almost twice as much as general education.
3 Misidentification: Diverse learners are disproportionately represented in special education.
This special education category is by far the largest, including 5.4 percent of all
schoolchildren and almost half of all students identified as having a disability (U.S.
Department of Education, 2005a). When IDEA was first passed and was being
implemented in 1976–77, only about one-quarter of all students with disabilities
were served through the learning disabilities category. In the 10-year period from
the 1990–91 to the 1999–2000 school year, the learning disabilities category grew by
34 percent (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). The rate at which assignment to
the learning disabilities category has increased far surpasses that for students with
speech or language impairments or emotional or behavioral disorders, and the
prevalence of mental retardation among students has decreased slightly over the
years. These relationships are shown in Figure 5.2.
Why is there such concern about the size of the learning disabilities category?
One reason is cost (Vaughn & Fuchs, 2003). Although variation exists across the
nation and even district by district, every student with a disability costs more to educate than their classmates without disabilities (Chambers, Parrish, & Harr, 2002). It
costs about twice as much to educate a student with disabilities as to educate a student without disabilities. Because the federal government does not fully cover these
costs, the public and the media make the case that students with disabilities are
being educated at the expense of their classmates without disabilities. This situation
has caused many to believe that the special education rolls should be reduced, and
partly because of its size, the learning disabilities category is the one they target
(Finn et al., 2001; Lyon et al., 2001).
The third concern is whether students are being correctly identified. Some
experts have called the category of learning disabilities a “dumping ground”
where any student unsuccessful in the general education curriculum can be
169
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Figure 5.2 • Comparison of Prevalence Rates of Students with High
Incidence Disabilities
3,000,000
Specific Learning Disabilities
2,500,000
Number of Students
170
2,000,000
1,500,000
Speech or Language Impairments
1,000,000
Mental Retardation
500,000
Emotional Disturbance
0
1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1999–00 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04
Year
The numbers of children with learning disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, and speech or
language impairments served under IDEA are shown for ages 6 to 21 and school years 1992–93 through
2003–2004.
Source: From the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third Annual Reports to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, U.S. Department of Education, 2000, 2001. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, and
U.S. Department of Education, Number of Children Served Under IDEA by Disability and Age Group, 1994 through
2003, Table AA9, Age Group 6–21, 2005c, www.ideadata.org
placed (Reschly, 2002). Thus it is possible that some of these students do not
have a disability but simply are failing in the general education curriculum and
were given the label so they could get extra attention and special assistance.
Which students are being included in this category? One very carefully conducted study gives us a hint (MacMillan, Gresham, & Bocian, 1998). These
researchers matched the state’s guidelines for learning disabilities with 61 actual
students who were identified by school districts. Their results indicated that 10
did not meet the criterion for any special education category, 19 had IQ scores
below 76 (which should have qualified them for services in the mental retardation category), and 9 also met the criteria for ADHD (see Chapter 6 for more
information about this condition).
Despite these three serious concerns, experts do not foresee the number of
students classified with learning disabilities decreasing in the years to come.
Even if identification procedures and the definition of learning disabilities are
changed to reflect newer ideas, such as unexpected underachievement and
resistance to treatment, it is doubtful that fewer students will be identified with
learning disabilities. In fact, estimates are that as many as 6 percent of all children have unexpected underachievement and also experience resistance to
treatment (Learning Disability Summit, 2001). Clearly, these students require
very special attention.
• Causes and Prevention
www.mylabschool.com
Causes and Prevention
Just as there are numerous manifestations of learning disabilities, there are multiple causes, levels of severity, and preventive measures. Unfortunately, researchers
do not have much concrete information about the causes of learning disabilities
(Bender, 2004). Without definitive causes or explanations for the problem, effective prevention will remain illusive.
Causes
Surprisingly little is actually known about the causes of learning disabilities. One
assumption embedded in definitions of learning disabilities is that the origin of
many of these individuals’ problems is neurological—that there may be brain damage. For the vast majority of students with disabilities, there is no documentation of
neurological impairment, but for those who do have brain damage, there are many
specific causes. For example, lack of oxygen before, during, or after birth can result
in neurological difficulties that affect the individual’s ability to learn.
Heredity may make a more significant contribution to learning disabilities than
was previously understood. Many individuals with learning disabilities report they
have relatives who have similar problems, but a genetic link to learning disabilities
has proven difficult to document (Decker & Defries, 1980, 1981). Today, because of
modern scientific techniques, researchers are discovering some genetic causes of
learning disabilities. For example, Turner syndrome has a definite link to mathematics disabilities in girls (Rovet, 2004). Some experts are searching for an interactive relationship among several genes hoping to identify risk factors for reading
disabilities (Wood & Grigorenko, 2001).
Finally, a strong relationship exists between learning disabilities and low socioeconomic status (SES) (Blair & Scott, 2002). Whether factors associated with
poverty (such as limited access to health care, living in dangerous environments
filled with toxins, or the lack of a supportive environment) puts these children at
great risk for learning disabilities is not known, but the relationship is clear.
Certainly, cases of learning disabilities attributable to poverty could be prevented.
Prevention
Without knowing a specific cause of learning disabilities, it is impossible to develop
a set of preventive procedures or strategies. But, when we do know a cause of a disability, we should take action. For example, as we have noted, environmental toxins
can cause neurological damage, which in turn can result in a learning disability.
Clearly, society at large and local communities should do everything they can to
eliminate toxins from children’s lives. As reported in Disability in the News, such
dangers are even found at the nation’s schools (Herszenhorn, 2004, October 29).
We can all make a difference in the lives of all children by not tolerating situations
that place America’s children at risk for such harm. Until such time as specific
causes for learning disabilities are discovered, definitive prevention strategies cannot be developed. However, the impact of the disability can be lessened, and in
some cases the condition remediated or compensated for, through education.
Overcoming Challenges
Although poor teaching can cause school failure and may be a factor in the identification of some students, it is not an actual cause of learning disabilities. Good
teaching, on the other hand, can prevent school failure and can also help students
compensate for their learning challenges (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2001; Graham, Harris, &
171
172
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Reaction Time to Fixing Lead in
Schools’ Water Is Disputed
David M. Herszenhorn
NEW YORK CITY – The chairman of the State Assembly Education
Committee charged yesterday that New York State health and education officials failed to follow up on reports that dangerous levels of lead
had been detected in the drinking water at 120 schools and day care
facilities. . . . [R]esults [from a statewide survey] tallied in August found
that the lead levels in water from fountains and sinks were high enough
to require action under the federal Environmental Protection Agency
guidelines. . . .
Repeated exposure to hazardous lead levels can result in lead poisoning, which can cause irreversible neurological damage, including
learning disabilities, hearing loss, and other problems. Mr. Sanders, a
Democrat from Manhattan, called the agencies “shamefully negligent” for
failing to follow up on the survey and request detailed information from
schools.
Source: “Reaction Time to Fixing Lead in Schools’ Water Is Disputed” by D. M. Herszenhorn,
October 29, 2004, New York Times. Copyright © 2004 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted with
permission.
Larsen, 2001). Obviously, poor teaching should be eliminated as a reason for school
failure! When educators target the right skills, set goals and expectations high, use
validated instructional procedures, and support students as they stretch to meet
their goals, education makes a real difference in the results of these students.
How can teaching be considered a preventive measure? Evidence is mounting
that one way to reduce the number of school-age students who struggle with academic learning is to teach the foundations of reading during the preschool years.
The notion is “catch them before they fail” (Torgeson & Wagner, 1998). For
instance, systematic instruction before first grade to develop skills prerequisite to
reading, such as sound–symbol awareness, has great benefits. This early instruction
may reduce the degree of a reading disability or even help some students avoid
reading challenges altogether (Compton, 2002). This knowledge has caused educators to modify the ways in which students with learning disabilities are identified,
by merging assessment with instruction. Let’s now turn our attention to these new
systems.
Assessment
Each Assessment section of this text highlights different features of the evaluation
process. Each begins by discussing identification during the preschool years, continues through the pre-referral and identification stages, and concludes with at least
one aspect of evaluating students’ progress. Although IDEA ’04 does not require
states to change the way they identify students with learning disabilities, it does
allow them to adopt a new method (see What IDEA ’04 Says About Eligibility for
Learning Disabilities. This new approach gives general education teachers more of
the responsibility and also sets the stage for drastic changes in the identification
• Assessment
www.mylabschool.com
process for students with learning disabilities. In this chapter,
we first talk about the preschool situation and then focus
on features of the new way to identify students with learning
disabilities.
Early Identification
173
what
IDEA
’04
says about...
Eligibility for Learning Disabilities
When determining eligibility for the category of learning disability, a local educational agency (e.g., school
Preschoolers typically are not identified as having learning
district):
disabilities. Look again at Figure 4.5, on page 134 in the previous chapter. During the preschool years, more youngsters
• Is not required to consider whether a child shows a
are identified with language impairments, but then, in third
discrepancy between school achievement and
grade, learning disabilities becomes the prevailing label. At
intellectual ability
present, most students with reading/learning disabilities are
• May include documentation on the child’s response to
not identified or given special services during the preschool
scientific, research-based intervention as part of the
years; their first identification is later during their school
formal evaluation procedures
years. Some of them are not even identified until college.
With the importance of early intervention so well understood, why are individuals with learning disabilities typically not identified earlier?
For one thing, professionals have been reluctant to identify or label children as having a learning or reading disability in the preschool years, or even by first grade, for
fear of making a diagnostic mistake. Young children do not develop at exactly the
same rate. Some children who do not develop as quickly as their peers do not have
a disability; they will catch up. Still others are the youngest in their class and are
thus not, and should not be, developmentally equal to their classmates. Another
reason lies in the concept of “significant discrepancy” between achievement and
potential. When children are very young, such discrepancies are impossible to
detect.
Might there be a way to identify those preschoolers who would profit from
intensive early intervention that might prevent later reading problems? One way
might be to identify young children at risk. Another way might be to find those
showing early warning signs. Who might be likely candidates? Preschoolers at risk
are those who were not talking by age 3, had low birth weights, were premature
babies, or come from poverty (Anderson & Shames, 2006; Blair & Scott, 2002).
Those displaying early warning signs are not developing the precursors to reading,
such as phonemic awareness (sound–symbol relationships) and knowing the letters
and sounds of the alphabet (Bursuck et al., 2004). Researchers are now confident
that these precursors are reliable predictors of reading success; that is, those
preschoolers who possess these skills become good readers (Bishop, 2003; Speece
et al., 2003; Torgesen & Wagner, 1998). In the section Early Intervention, on page
178, you will learn more about delivery of services to preschoolers who might be at
risk for later learning disabilities. But now let’s turn our attention to the new prereferral and identification process just approved in IDEA ’04 for schoolchildren.
Pre-Referral: Response to Intervention
Until the reauthorization of IDEA in 2004, a few places in the nation were piloting
and implementing a new identification process for learning disabilities. This new
process is not mandated by IDEA ’04, but it is encouraged in the law and most
likely will become widely adopted (OSEP, 2005). To better understand these
changes, it may be helpful first to review the traditional method for identifying students with learning disabilities. The standard procedure uses discrepancy formulas to determine whether the gap between a student’s achievement and her or
his potential is significant and accounts for that student’s learning failures.
Although many different types are applied across the nation, such formulas have
been the common way to identify students as having learning disabilities (Schrag,
2000). Two test results are needed to apply every discrepancy formula: an IQ score
and the score from a standardized achievement test. Considerable dissatisfaction
discrepancy formulas
Calculations used to determine
the gap between a student’s
achievement and her or his
potential; used to identify students with learning disabilities
174
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
with discrepancy formulas exists (Bradley, Danielson, & Hallahan, 2002). Here are
just a few criticisms:
• IQ tests are not reliable and are unfair to many groups of children.
• Results have little utility in planning a student’s educational program.
• The process does not help determine which interventions might be
successful.
• Outcomes are not related to performance in the classroom, in the general
education curriculum, or on state- or district-wide assessments.
• Children must fail before they can qualify for needed services. Thus early
intervention is delayed until the gap becomes great enough for children to
meet this criterion.
With such concerns, why were discrepancy formulas used for so long? One
important reason is that they give the identification process some appearance of
objectivity. Another reason is that the results are easy for parents and teachers to
understand (Ahearn, 2003). Diagnosticians or school psychologists give a child an
IQ test and an achievement test and then apply the formula. Whether the child is
included in the learning disabilities category thus becomes a cut-and-dried, “yes or
no” answer. Another reason is that the discrepancy system is fairly easy to apply. The
teacher refers the student, the diagnostician gives some tests, and the identification
process moves along.
IDEA ’04 now allows states and school districts to use the pre-referral step in
the IEP process for at least initial identification of students with learning disabilities, and even for full identification. The purpose is to find those students who are
“resistant to treatment” through a process that determines their response to
intervention (RTI). The RTI system “filters” children through many stages of
learning opportunities to determine whether they are resistant to instructional
intervention (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Compton, 2004). The system does this evaluation by
systematically providing students with more and more intensive instruction (Fuchs
& Fuchs, 2005).
How does this pre-referral process work? Although it can be applied for any
academic area, RTI is receiving most attention for its application to reading—the
most common problem among students with learning disabilities. Lynn and Doug
Fuchs and Sharon Vaughn are some of the innovators who have researched this
concept and developed one approach to its implementation. Here’s what they suggest should happen in the general education setting (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2005;
Vaughn, 2005):
1 All students in kindergarten or in first, second, third, or fourth grade experience universal screening and are tested once in the fall.
2 Students demonstrating skills that put them at risk for reading failure are
identified for intervention.
3 Validated procedures (e.g., direct instruction on reading skills such as sight
word vocabulary and phonics) are implemented, and students’ progress is
monitored throughout and after intervention.
4 Students who do not learn after receiving three increasingly intensive levels
of instruction are either identified as having learning disabilities or sent on
for further assessments by a multidisciplinary team, depending on the district’s rules for identification.
response to intervention
(RTI) A multitiered pre-referral
method of increasingly intensive
interventions; used to identify
“nonresponders,” or students
with learning disabilities
Which students are they looking for? This process is intended to identify students who are resistant to treatment—those who fail to make adequate progress
(Fuchs, 2003; Speece, Case, & Molloy, 2003). These are the students who do not
profit from instruction in the general education classroom and are in need of special education (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2005; Vaughn, 2005). Figure 5.3 indicates how this
• Assessment
www.mylabschool.com
EMILY
Tier 1
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan
School Weeks
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
MARCO
Tier 1
Tier 2
CBM Word Identification Fluency
(words per minute)
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
CBM Word Identification Fluency
(words per minute)
CBM Word Identification Fluency
(words per minute)
Figure 5.3 • Comparison of CBM Data for Three Students
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan
School Weeks
Emily and Marco, general education students who responded to intervention, and Josh, is resistant to
treatment and needs sustained, intensive, and explicit intervention.
process might be implemented. During Step 1, Screening, each first grader in a class
read a list of words aloud, and the number of correctly read words in a one-minute
sample was recorded. The data from each student scoring below criterion (Marco,
Emily, and Josh) were graphed. These three first graders remained in the general
education class but moved on to Step 2, Tier 1 Assessment. Their performance on the
word identification task was assessed each week to determine whether peer tutoring, extra attention, and modified textbooks resolved their reading problems.
Marco, clearly at risk for reading failure, as indicated by the score he received on
the initial screening assessment, responded satisfactorily to intervention at this
level and returned to the general education program. Emily and Josh’s progress
was insufficient, however, so they moved on to Step 3, Tier 2 Assessment. They both
remained in the general education program but received more intensive instruction from a paraprofessional under the supervision of a reading specialist who
carefully matched the types of instruction chosen for them (such as active
responding, cues, prompts, and/or direct instruction on phonics) to their skill levels. As you can see from Emily’s chart in Figure 5.3, she responded to this level of
instruction, so she returned to the general education program. But Josh’s performance indicated that he is “resistant to treatment,” and he entered Step 4,
Disability Classification/Special Education Placement. At this step, a multidisciplinary
team will determine the exact nature of Josh’s disability, his strengths, and his
needs for supports and sustained, intensive intervention.
Lynn and Doug Fuchs report that over 60 percent of students in a pilot program testing this new identification process could not sustain the improvement
made in their first intensive experience and had to return to special education to
resume academic growth (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2001). Others report that referrals to special education declined by 74 percent (McNamara & Hollinger, 2003). Progressmonitoring systems (see Chapter 2 for a review), such as curriculum based measurement (CBM), that do not rely on infrequently administered standardized
achievement tests are embedded in the RTI approach. You will learn more about
CBM later in this chapter (see page 177).
What skills for reading are being tested through the RTI system? Different abilities are assessed in different grades (Fuchs, 2003; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2005).
JOSH
Tier 1
Tier 2
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan
School Weeks
175
176
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
•
•
•
•
Kindergarten: letter–sound fluency; say the sound represented by a letter
Grade 1: word identification fluency; word recognition on a timed test
Grades 2–3: passage reading; read a paragraph aloud
Grade 4: maze fluency; fill in missing words when reading a passage
Examples of targets for each grade are shown in Figure 5.4. There you find segments of the Fuchs’ assessments. Now review again the sample graphs shown in
Figure 5.3 for Emily, the “responder,” and for Josh, the student who is resistant to
treatment. Compare their performances, and you should see how students can
respond differently to intensive interventions. Such assessments tell teachers which
students need sustained and intensive intervention to overcome their challenges
mastering reading.
What are the benefits of RTI? Proponents of this approach are confident that
RTI resolves the problems with the traditional “discrepancy between intelligence
and achievement” model (Speece, Case, & Molloy, 2003; McNamara & Hollinger,
2003). Here are some of the advantages that RTI is usually described as offering:
1 No delay in receiving intervention. More intensive instruction is delivered
promptly, eliminating a long waiting period of continued failure before help
is received.
2 Reduces inappropriate referrals. RTI provides teachers with better guidance in
determining which students are in need of special education.
3 Poor teaching not a reason. Inefficient instruction is eliminated as a reason for
learning disabilities.
4 Assessment leads to intervention. RTI combines assessment with intervention.
Figure 5.4 • Response to Intervention Assessment Samples:
Kindergarten Through Fourth Grade
Kindergarten
Letter-Sound Fluency
Teacher: Say the sound
that goes with each
letter.
Time: 1 minute
p
i
O
v
k
Y
É
U
t
a
g
m
E
z
R
s
j
n
i
u
e
d
S
b
c
Grade 1
Word-Identification Fluency
y
w
f
b
V
x
Grades 2–3
Passage Reading Fluency
• Number of words read aloud correctly
in 1 minute on end-of-year passages
Teacher: Read
these words.
Time: 1 minute
two
for
come
because
last
from
…
Grades 4–6
Maze Fluency
A SCARY NOISE
Ray lived in Georgia. He was born there and had ____
friends. One day Dad had come home ____ work to say that
they would have ____ move far away. Dad worked in ____
factory. The factory had closed and Dad ____ a new job. Dad
had found a ____ job and now they had to move.
Ray ____ sad because he did not want ____ leave his
school. He did not ____ to leave his friends.
“I am ____, son,” said Dad.
“It is OK,” ____ Ray with a smile. He did ____ want Dad to
feel bad.
They ____ up the car and moved to a ____ state. Their new
Source: Adapted with permission. Courtesy of Lynn Fuchs and Doug Fuchs.
www.mylabschool.com
• Assessment
177
5 No stigma: All students enter the process.
6 Low achievement is distinguished from learning disabilities. Low performance
improves but growth remains insufficient, thereby separating these two
groups of students.
The support for RTI is growing, although some professionals adhere to the traditional discrepancy model (Kavale, Holdnack, & Mostert, 2005). Others remain
concerned about what it will take to implement this new model (Ahearn, 2003).
What will it take to make the RTI system work in schools across the country? Clearly,
changing to this new system will require considerably more support for general
education teachers who are adding assessment to their instructional duties
(Denton, Vaughn, & Fletcher, 2003). General and special education teachers will
need to collaborate more than ever before by helping each other tie assessment to
intervention. Although making these changes takes considerable effort, this new
system has the potential to make real differences in the education of students with
learning disabilities.
Identification
As more and more states adopt RTI, the pre-referral process may replace the identification step in the IEP process for learning disabilities (Fuchs, Mock et al.,
2003). In many states, however, traditional diagnostic procedures will follow the
pre-referral stage. Information about the student’s academic performance gathered during the pre-referral stage is used in the final identification step. In other
words, pre-referral does not replace, but rather supports, formal referrals to special education for all students who do not succeed with more intensive instruction
(Speece, Case, & Molloy, 2003). Then, just as under the guidelines of IDEA before
the 2004 version was passed, a multidisciplinary team administers a comprehensive
assessment battery of tests that might include standardized tests of intelligence,
achievement, hearing, and vision. The purposes of this step in the assessment
process are to specifically determine the cause of the student’s problems and to
ensure that a student with mental retardation or another disability is not misidentified as having a learning disability.
Evaluation: Curriculum Based
Measurement (CBM)
As you learned in Chapter 2, progress monitoring is an important component of an
effective education for students with disabilities. Curriculum based measurement (CBM) is a form of progress monitoring that uses direct and frequent measurements of students’ actual performance, such as oral reading rate, percentage of
correct answers to mathematics problems, and number of homework assignments
produced correctly and turned in on time. CBM enables elementary, middle school,
and high school teachers to evaluate individual students’ progress and also to assess
the effectiveness of the instructional methods they are using (Espin, Weissenburger,
& Benson, 2004; IRIS Center, 2005). It can also be used to compare one student’s
daily achievements with those of classmates and to track trends across time.
Six steps are used in the CBM system (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Powell, 2004).
1 Create or select appropriate tests (probes). Probes are matched to the student’s
grade, and they sample skills to be mastered across the school year. Thus, as
time progresses, students should get more items correct.
2 Administer and score probes. Probes are presented frequently (e.g., weekly or
monthly) to ensure that students’ data are valid (reflect performance of the
same skills being taught) and reliable (consistently represent the students’
abilities on the targeted skills).
curriculum based measurement (CBM) A system of
progress monitoring; evaluates
performance frequently (daily or
weekly) by collecting data
directly on mastery of academic
subjects being taught
178
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
3 Graph the scores. Visual representations of student’s performance enable students to see their progress and teachers to make instructional decisions (see
Figure 5.3 again for some sample charts).
4 Set goals. Targets, which sometimes are called benchmarks, help students and
teachers understand how much growth is expected or required.
5 Make instructional decisions. The student’s performance is used to evaluate the
instructional program in order to retain effective strategies and discontinue
ineffective ones.
6 Communicate progress: CBM data and graphs facilitate communication with
parents, other teachers, and students.
CBM has many benefits, besides being an integral part of the new RTI system
for pre-referral and identification of students with learning disabilities. Teachers
who use CBM find that it facilitates communication with parents and students
because it focuses everyone’s attention on instructional targets and the student’s
performance (Hosp & Hosp, 2003). CBM also helps teachers plan more effective
instruction, helps students see that they are responsible for their learning and
resulting performance, and reflects progress on learning the curriculum content.
Early Intervention
The importance of the preschool years, when the foundations for learning are
developing and become established, cannot be overstated. This is true for all children. Early childhood is a critical period, in which many developmental milestones—the basis for school achievement and life success—occur. Most youngsters
learn these basic skills naturally, but for others they need to be taught directly.
Although very few preschoolers are identified as having learning disabilities, those
who do have such disabilities, along with some peers without disabilities, begin
their struggle learning to read during these early years. For many of them, early
action by teachers can divert their path away from reading
and school failure toward success. Let’s first look at these
foundation skills and then learn about some ways in which
teachers can make a difference in the results of these
preschoolers.
Core Skills of Reading
Reading is crucial to school success, and it is a skill that is difficult for most students with learning disabilities to master.
Researchers are now confident that the essential, foundation, or core skills that make for good readers are developed
much early than was originally thought (Jenkins &
O’Connor, 2002). In particular, three skills that begin to
develop during the preschool years are important for later
success with reading. They are
Learning basic reading skills like sound-to-symbol
relationships is essential for reading success.
Students who do not learn these skills naturally must
receive direct instruction aimed at achieving mastery.
The preschoolers are listening to a story about Willy
the gorilla and his adventures.
• Phonological awareness
• Rapid naming of alphabetic sounds and letters
• Beginning phonics
Mastering language is a prerequisite for reading. As
you learned in the previous chapter, the importance of
facility with language explains why so many preschoolers
• Early Intervention
www.mylabschool.com
179
who are identified with language impairments during the
preschool years are identified with learning disabilities during their school years. One important set of skills both for
language development and for later reading success is
phonological awareness—identifying, separating, and
Early Intervening Services
manipulating the sound units of spoken language (Vaughn
In order to provide early intervening services, a local
& Linan-Thompson, 2004). Indicators of phonological
educational agency (e.g., school district) may
awareness include hearing and identifying sounds in
words, breaking or segmenting words and phrases into
• Use a specified portion of IDEA funds for students in
their smallest units, and rhyming. Although some experts
kindergarten through grade 12 who need additional
believe that skills such as actual letter and word identificaacademic and behavioral support to succeed in the
tion and decoding are superior to phonological awareness
general education classroom but have not yet been
as predictors of which students will later have trouble masidentified as needing special education or related
tering reading, it is clear that this core skill develops early
services
(Hammill, 2004; Ehri et al., 2001; Nelson, Benner, &
• Emphasize services for students in kindergarten
Gonzalez, 2003). The second skill that seems to predict
through grade 3
later success with reading is letter fluency, which is indiThe
services and activities provided may include
cated by calling out quickly the letters of the alphabet
• Professional development for teachers and other
upon seeing them in any order (Speece et al., 2003). The
school staff that will enable them to deliver
third set of skills that begins to develop during these early
scientifically based academic instruction and
years is phonics—the ability to decipher printed words or
behavioral interventions
identify the sounds that are represented by individual letters and groups of letters. A good start on learning phonics
• Instruction for teachers and school staff on the use
and on learning how to decode printed words is also an
of adaptive and instructional software
indication that the individual will become a good reader
• Educational and behavioral evaluations, services, and
(Bursuck et al., 2004). These three skills, along with others
supports (which may include scientifically based
(such as vocabulary and sight word development), form
literacy instruction
the early foundations for the good start students need as
they begin the process of mastering reading. For those who
do not develop these skills on their own, teachers can make a real difference
through instruction. It is also important to understand that teaching isolated
skills, such as phonological awareness or rapid naming of letters and their
sounds, might not be sufficient for many students with reading/learning disabilities. They are more likely to need intensive instruction to put those and
other core skills together to become proficient readers (Hammill, 2004;
Swanson et al., 2003).
what
IDEA
’04
says about...
Early Reading Instruction
Thus the origins of literacy take shape during early childhood, long before children
actually begin to read (Dickinson & McCabe, 2001). Early instruction in phonological awareness (e.g., cat has three sounds, fall and wall rhyme), letter naming,
and decoding is helpful for all preschoolers (Pullen & Justice, 2003). Whether they
are English language learners with learning disabilities or native English speakers,
for preschoolers and kindergarteners who do not learn these precursors to reading
on their own, instruction in these very important skills can avoid later reading problems (Leafstedt, Richards, & Gerber, 2004). For some, direct instruction in the general preschool or general education setting is sufficient; for others, intensive intervention is necessary. In either case, a long-term, positive impact on youngsters’
reading abilities can be the outcome (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Thompson, 2002).
Unfortunately, success is not universal, and some 30 percent of these youngsters
remain resistant to treatment (Jenkins & O’Connor, 2002).
In addition to explicit instruction on skills that form the foundation for reading, preschool and kindergarten teachers should not lose sight of the importance
of developing language- and literacy-rich environments (Katims, 1994). Literacy
is not just decoding or even comprehending the printed work; it is a reflection of
a greater set of skills and abilities that include reflective thinking. Children need
phonological awareness
Identifying, separating, or
manipulating sound units of spoken language
letter fluency Quickly reading
and naming letters of the
alphabet
phonics The sounds represented
by letters and letter-groups
180
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
to develop a love for reading, to gain skills and attitudes that favor future literacy,
and to recognize both that reading is important to them and that it is fun.
Through their retelling and reenacting their favorite stories, the important concept that print has meaning is understood early and becomes a basis for future
instruction.
Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities
Again, one defining characteristic of individuals with learning disabilities is their
unexpected underachievement—performance that demands a unique, individualized, and intensive reaction. These students’ low achievement separates them more
each school year from their classmates without disabilities (Deshler, 2005), as is
illustrated in Figure 5.5.
Access to the General Education Curriculum:
Early Intervening
In this chapter we have stressed the importance of preschoolers and students in
the elementary grades developing the foundation skills for reading. In the early
grades, reading is an academic target for instruction, but quickly it becomes a
skill needed for overall academic success. Reading is one important way in which
students access the content presented in the basic general education curriculum.
Whether students are at risk for school failure, are diverse learners facing the
challenges of learning English as a second language, or are on the way to being
identified as having learning disabilities, it is critical that they receive extra help
and learn the core skills of reading (see Table 5.3) as early as possible. The exciting news is that explicit instruction in these core skills makes a genuine difference
and can turn many struggling readers into confident readers (Bishop, 2003;
Bursuck et al., 2004).
What makes educators so certain about the power and importance of providing
explicit instruction in the core skills of reading as soon as students show signs of strug-
Figure 5.5 • The Widening Performance Gap Between Students with and
without Learning Disabilities as They Get Older
ond grade student (B) is meeting the
demands of the curriculum, showing
grade-level achievement. Struggling
first grade student (A1) and second
grade student (B1) begin the path of
under achievement.
Source: “A closer look: Closing the performance gap” by D. D. Deshler,
StrateNotes, 13 (January 2005), page 1.
Reprinted by permission.
Content Demands/Skills
NOTE: First grade student (A) and sec-
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Demands of the curriculum
Performance gap
B
A
●
●
1
Struggling students
●
●
2 3
A1 B1
4
5
6
7
8
Grade in School
9
10 11 12
• Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities
www.mylabschool.com
181
Table 5.3 • Core Skills of Reading
Domain
Explanation
Example
Phonological awareness
Includes identifying smallest units
of sound, segmenting words (breaking
words into sound units), manipulating
sounds in words
Knowing cat has three sound units, c-a-t
Saying each sound (phoneme) in the
word cat
Rhyming cat and mat
Letter–sound
correspondence
Knowing the sound each letter or
combinations of letters represents
Identifying the names and sounds of
letters presented in random order
Phonics
Sound–symbol relationships for reading
and spelling
The letter s indicates both the sounds
s and the sound z as in saw and was
Word identification
fluency
Reads individual words quickly
Reads words from lists accurately and at
a satisfactory rate
Fluency
Reads passages orally correctly and
quickly
Reads sentences and paragraphs
accurately and at a satisfactory rate
Comprehension
Comprehends reading passages
Understands content of a paragraph
gling? Here are some key findings that support this conclusion (Dion et al., 2004;
Ehri et al., 2001; Fuchs, Fuchs, & Compton, 2004):
• Students who fail to acquire the core skills of reading soon after entering
school become poor readers.
• Students who complete first grade without having mastered phonological
awareness tend to be poor readers in fourth grade.
• Readers who are struggling at third grade tend to be poor readers at
ninth grade.
• Struggling readers do not catch up on their own.
• Intensive and explicit instruction on the core skills of reading (such as
sound–symbol relationships), delivered early, often helps such students
become better readers.
Armed with the knowledge that intervening early can be critical to the success
of so many students, federal, state, and school district officials have been trying to
figure out how to get additional services to all students who need them. Of course,
students with reading/learning disabilities qualify for special education. For them,
intensive and explicit instruction is part of their IEPs and their guarantee for an
appropriate education. However, for those who do not have disabilities (or have not
yet qualified for special education), the challenge is to get services to them quickly.
IDEA ’04 allows restricted funding for a new process to deliver prevention services
to struggling learners. Early intervening brings intensive instruction to all struggling learners in the hope of preventing learning problems that will only compound
as time passes. See What IDEA ’04 Says About Early Intervening Services on page 179 to
learn what the law allows.
Instructional Accommodations
Universal design for learning, which we discussed in Chapter 2 on pages 42–43,
provides multiple ways for all students to access the general education curriculum.
You may recall that universal design for learning uses the computer to provide
greater access to printed material for those students who profit more by listening to
early intervening Providing
explicit and intensive instruction
to all struggling students to prevent the compounding of learning problems
182
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Accommodating for Inclusive Environments
Adjusting Content and Providing Instructional Supports
Provide Structure and a Standard Set of
Expectations
• Evaluate the effectiveness of your instructional interventions, and when they are not effective, change them.
• Help students develop organizational skills.
• Establish sets of rules for academic and social activities
and tasks.
• Adhere to a well-planned schedule.
• Match your language to the comprehension level of the
student.
• Be consistent.
Give Students Feedback and
Reinforcement for Success
Adjust Instructional Materials and Activities
• Individualize instruction; be sure the reading level is
appropriate.
• Break tasks down into smaller pieces (or chunks).
• Begin lessons with advance organizers.
• Supplement oral and written assignments with learning
aids (computers).
• Assign a peer tutor.
• Modify tests, allowing the student to take more time or
complete the test in a different way (listen to a tape
of the test).
• Tell students when they are behaving properly.
• Reward students for improvement.
• Praise students when they have done well or accomplished a goal.
• Inform students when they are not meeting
expectations.
• Encourage students to develop partnerships among
themselves, and reinforce those who do so.
Make Tasks Interesting
• Develop attention by making assignments interesting
and novel.
• Vary the format of instruction and activities.
• Use high-interest curriculum materials.
• Encourage students to work together during extracurricular activities.
print-to-speech translations of texts or by being able to refer to definitions or examples of difficult words and concepts. Clearly, classroom computers can be used to
make excellent accommodations. On the horizon is a special typeface for use in
textbooks. For the benefit of students with reading/learning disabilities, the typeface was designed specifically to avoid letters that can be inverted or mirrored
(Curtis, 2005). Read Regular® (see Figure 5.6 to see examples of this new typeface)
helps clarify specific letters that are often confusing by making them more clearly
unique (Frensch, 2005). Also, teachers who adjust the content and presentation of
Figure 5.6 • Example of Read Regular® and Times Roman Typefaces
abcde
nopqr
Read Regular®
Times Roman
Source: Read Regular typeface copyright © 2001–2005 by Natascha Frensch. Reprinted by permission.
www.mylabschool.com
• Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities
183
their instruction improve outcomes of students with disabilities. Some techniques are useful for students with many different disabilities but are critically
important to the success of students with learning disabilities. For example,
the link between learning disabilities and language impairments is now clear.
Therefore, teachers who adjust their language to the level of listening comprehension of their students or break learning tasks into smaller segments
help many students with many different types of learning needs.
Accommodating for Inclusive Environments provides several ideas about adjusting
content and providing instructional supports to students.
Validated Practices
Over 30 years of research findings have demonstrated that students with
learning disabilities learn well when taught with validated practices (Swanson
& Sachse-Lee, 2000; Vaughn, Gersten, & Chard, 2000). Teachers must deliberately select instructional materials and procedures that have been systematically evaluated, even though they will not be uniformly powerful. Remember
that students with learning disabilities have great individual differences.
Because of their heterogeneity, teachers cannot assume that a tactic effective
with one student will be effective with every other. Let’s consider two practices
that have broad applications:
• Peer tutoring
• Learning strategies
When peers tutor each other, the
academic performance for each
member of the pair of students
improves, and teachers are free to
work with other students.
Having students teach each other—peer tutoring—is one practice that
is consistently effective across all grades and subjects (e.g., early ready skills, reading comprehension, mastery of high school world history). It also benefits different
types of learners, such as those at risk, English language learners, and students with
learning disabilities (Fuchs, Fuchs, Al Otaiba et al., 2001; Mastropieri et al., 2003;
Sáenz, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2005). Teachers are most excited about one particular
application of peer tutoring, Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS).
PALS is an instructional tactic utilizing classmates as academic peer tutors. It works
with students often referred to as difficult to teach, can be implemented with entire
classes of general education students, and frees teachers to work more intensively
with students who need more help (Dion et al, 2004; Mathes & Babyak, 2001).
Many general education teachers use PALS during the pre-referral and RTI process
described in the Assessment section of this chapter. This one-on-one tutoring system is considered to be of low intensity and seems powerful enough to help about
80 percent of low-achieving students (Mathes, Torgesen, & Allor, 2001). The
remaining students require more intensive one-on-one instruction. See Validated
Practices to learn how PALS is put into action.
Another set of validated practices developed for middle school and high
school students with learning disabilities helps them become more strategic learners. Don Deshler, Jean Schumaker, and their colleagues at the University of Kansas
Center for Research on Learning began developing the learning strategies
approach some 25 years ago. Their work has grown from one strategy into a powerful and effective curriculum (Deshler et al., 2001; Swanson & Sachse-Lee, 2000).
Its purpose is to give these students a plan and methods for success. The
Learning Strategies Curriculum comprises many individual learning strategies that help students learn and remember information more efficiently. These
powerful interventions help students compensate for their learning disabilities
(Deshler, 2005; Deshler & Roth, 2002).
The learning strategies concept caused the nation to change its thinking about
the purpose of high school special education. Formerly, secondary special education teachers practiced “crisis teaching”—that is, tutoring students with learning
disabilities so that they might have a better chance of receiving a passing grade on
tomorrow’s test or the term paper due next week. The Learning Strategies
peer tutoring Students teach-
ing each other
Peer-Assisted Learning
Strategies (PALS) A vali-
dated method wherein students
coach each other to improve academic learning; peer tutoring for
reading and mathematics
Learning Strategies
Curriculum Instructional
methods to help students read,
comprehend, and study better by
helping them organize and collect information strategically; a
supplemental high school curriculum designed for students with
learning disabilities; developed
at the University of Kansas
Center for Research on Learning
184
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Validated Practices Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS)
What Is PALS?
Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) is an instructional
approach that uses classmates as tutors who exchange the roles
of coaches and players. PALS is used across a wide range of
grade levels—from kindergarten through high school—to teach
students many different skills. For example, kindergarteners
have helped each other learn the core or foundations skills of
reading (e.g., sound–symbol relationships, sight words). English
language learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities have
improved their reading comprehension, and middle school students have improved their skill in charting and graphing data.
Why PALS Is beneficial
The PALS instructional approach multiplies the opportunities
for individualized instruction and the implementation of validated instructional tactics across entire classes of students.
Using classmates as teachers frees the teacher to provide
more intensive supports to students who need them the most.
The procedures also actively involve students in learning.
When students are trained in how to tutor and are taught the
instructional tactic they are applying, peer tutoring has consistently proved effective, boosting gains in learning. Also,
students report that they enjoy tutoring each other, which
adds a motivating element to the classroom routine.
Implementing PALS
PALS is designed to supplement, not replace, regular instructional routines or elements of the standards-based curriculum. Before classmates work together, the teacher instructs
the class about the application of the tactic, the roles each
pair will exchange, when to take turns, and how to provide
corrective feedback. The teacher practices the instructional
routines with the entire class until they demonstrate understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Student pairs work
together on a specific academic task (e.g., letter–sound
recognition in reading, sight word vocabulary, math facts,
story comprehension) for four weeks and then switch partners. Here’s a general example of how PALS is applied:
Frequency
• PALS is usually scheduled three or four times per week.
• Sessions last between 20 and 35 minutes.
• Each session is divided into 10-minute segments so each
peer has a turn as coach and player.
• Sessions may be divided in half so that more than one
skill can be the target of instruction.
• Sessions continue for a semester or half of the school year.
Partners
• Rank-order students in a class from the strongest to the
weakest on the targeted skill.
• Divide the class in half.
• Pair the top-ranked student in the high-performing group
with the top-ranked student in the low-performing group.
• Continue the process until every student has a partner.
• Each member of the pair, during every session, takes a turn
at being the “coach,” or tutor, and being the “player,” or
student being tutored.
Curriculum includes many different strategies and addresses a variety of skills that
students with learning disabilities need to access the general education curriculum
successfully and perform well on state- and district-wide assessments. Some strategies help students write multiparagraph themes, personal narratives, reports, letters, and even essays (Isaacson, 2004; Schumaker & Deshler, 2003). Many strategies
assist students in gaining meaning from complicated social studies and science
texts, and others help them remember information.
Each learning strategy typically includes these key features:
•
•
•
•
advance organizers A tactic
that previews lectures and provides organizing structures to
acquaint students with the content, its organization, and its
importance before the lesson
Advance organizers
Step-by-step procedures for application of the strategy
Mnemonics
Built-in systems for progress monitoring
At the beginning of a lesson or unit, students are given a rationale, or reason, to
learn and apply a strategy (“This strategy will help you remember history better”).
Accordingly, each unit begins with an advance organizer that explains to students why the content is important (“This information will be on the state’s achievement test”) and mentions some features of the content on which to focus their
www.mylabschool.com
• Student pairs work together for about a month and then
are assigned new partners.
• Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities
185
Figure A • “What word?” Activity from
Lesson 30.
Roles
• The coach asks the player to do the task (e.g., read a passage, compute subtraction problems).
• The player performs the task (e.g., reads out loud, solves
the problems).
• The coach listens or watches and provides corrective feedback.
• Pairs change roles every 10 minutes.
Figure A is a sample worksheet for use by a pair of kindergarten students learning sight words. Special worksheets or
materials do not have to be prepared to implement peer
tutoring. Texts and workbooks used for standard instruction
can be utilized for PALS lessons.
What Word?
Students learn to recognize common words (sight words) that
cannot be easily sounded out.
The coach points to the sight word on a lesson page and asks,
• “What word?”
• The Player responds.
The coach follows with praise or correction, as in the “What
Sound” activity.
• Students take turns identifying the words.
• Lessons build cumulatively across lessons.
and
on
was
is
the
and
is
was
What word?
This scientifically validated practice is a teaching method
that has been proved effective by many systematic research
efforts. A complete annotated reference list can be found on
the PALS Web site: http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/kennedy/
pals. Interactive modules demonstrating K-PALS (for
kindergarteners) and PALS (for elementary-age students
learning to read) are available on the IRIS Web site:
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu
Source: Copyright © IRIS Center for Faculty Enhancement, Vanderbilt
University and the John F. Kennedy Center, PALS Project.
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu Reprinted by permission.
—By Kimberly Paulsen, Vanderbilt University
attention (“Notice that the American soldiers in the Revolutionary War used nonconventional fighting tactics, while the British soldiers lined up in rows, shooting
their rifles in the traditional way across a field”). Each strategy is organized systematically and follows a definite sequence. To help students remember the strategy,
the first letters of the steps spell out an easy word to remember. Try this simple paraphrasing strategy as you study this chapter; it has helped thousands of high school
students remember information from general education texts. The strategy is
called RAP:
Read the paragraph.
Ask yourself the Main Idea and Details in the paragraph.
Put the Main Idea and Details in your own words.
Notice that RAP is a mnemonic. Mnemonics are memory aids that help people remember items that go together. These simple “word tricks” are useful when
preparing for tests (even the SAT), learning vocabulary needed to access the general education curriculum, or studying complex information (Jitendra et al., 2004;
Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1997; Terrill, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2004). Here’s another
mnemonics A learning strategy that promotes remembering
information by associating the
first letters of items in a list
with a word, sentence, or picture
(e.g., HOMES for the Great Lakes)
186
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Figure 5.7 • The Great Lakes Mnemonic: HOMES
Lake Superior
H
O
S
M
E
S
example, one that is also shown in Figure 5.7: The
word HOMES helps us remember the names of
the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie,
and Superior).
Technology
Lake Huron
Lake Michigan
M
Today, computers are common in schools and at
home. The 1990s saw expanded capabilities of computers as well as substantial price reductions, makH
ing access to technology available to all students in
most school settings. The benefits to students with
O
disabilities are many, and the possibilities opened
Lake Ontario
up by technology continue to be discovered. Some
E Lake Erie
educators are suggesting that technology be viewed
as a ”cognitive prosthesis” for students with learning disabilities (Lewis, 1998). Rapid advances have
changed the way educators design instructional
opportunities. Let’s look at a few of those advances and see how they benefit students
with learning disabilities. For example, technology can
• Augment an individual’s strengths
• Compensate for the effects of disabilities
• Provide alternative modes of performing tasks
Much of the technology that benefits everyone is particularly useful to students
with learning disabilities by helping them become more efficient and effective learners (Bryant & Bryant, 2003; Raskind & Higgins, 1998). Table 5.4 highlights some of
these benefits and suggests how assistive technology can reduce the barriers to success that these individuals face at home, at school, and in daily life. Special devices
dedicated to one function, such as the Quicktionary Reading Pen from Seiko
Instruments, which actually rolls over a printed word and both provides a definition
and “says” the word for the user, can help students compensate for a particular problem. In Chapter 4 you learned about graphic organizers, such as story maps and
about special software, such as Kidspiration® and Inspiration®, that help students of all
ages to take notes or create visual displays of the content being learned. (See again
Validated Practices on page 146.) Graphic organizers have application across academic
subjects and ages and are especially useful when the student is organizing the content being studied for social studies or science. Their effectiveness in helping students comprehend even difficult reading passages in basal readers or high school
science texts has been demonstrated again and again (Boulineau et al., 2004;
Masterpieri et al., 2003). Translating content into visual displays is also helpful to students with mathematics/learning disabilities studying algebra—one subject that is a
“gatekeeper” to a standard high school diploma (Ives & Hoy, 2003).
As you learned earlier in this chapter, one characteristic that most students
with learning disabilities share is their poor motivation for learning. Many teachers describe students with learning disabilities as “inactive learners.” We also noted
that teachers can make a difference by assigning work that is interesting and interactive. Incorporating technology with instruction serves two purposes: It can help
students with learning disabilities participate more fully in the general education
curriculum, and it creates active learning environments (Bryant & Bryant, 2003).
The Internet and related telecommunications applications (such as e-mail) have
great benefits for us all, but particularly for students with learning disabilities.
Here are some examples: Instead of just reading about art and history in textbooks, students can visit virtual museums and libraries all around the world to
experience the content of their teacher’s lessons. And students who are studying
World War II in Holland can find information about Anne Frank to use in class
• Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities
www.mylabschool.com
187
Table 5.4 • Assistive Technology Options for Students with Learning Disabilities
Barriers
Difficulties
Assistive Technology Solution
Print
Reading
Audiotaped books
“Talking” computers
Captioned film and videos
Semantic mapping software (story mapping)
Web-based texts
Hypermedia and hypertext
Writing
Word processing programs (including grammar assistance)
Desktop publishing
Computer-based thesauruses
Editing aids
Planning aids
Word prediction software
Spelling
Spellcheckers
Voice input devices
Organization
Manipulating graphics
Presentation packages (e.g., Powerpoint, Persuasion)
Semantic mapping software
Speech
E-mail
Voice output systems
Sythesized speech
Solving problems
Calculating
Handheld calculators
Spreadsheets
Graphics programs
Being organized
Daily life
Personal organizers
Electronic calendars
Computer “stickies”
Electronic address books
Study skills
Organizing software (outlines, graphic organizers)
Timing devices
Researching topics
CD-ROM-based reference books
Internet databases
Computer-based instruction (hypermedia, hypertext)
Remembering
Outlining systems (main ideas from details)
Communication
Learning
reports and term papers (Mulholland, 2005). The Web offers excitement and
enrichment that might otherwise be missing from the curriculum. It also might
provide the motivation necessary to elicit the extra effort that students with learning disabilities must invest.
Word processing technology is also a boon to students with learning disabilities
who need to improve their writing abilities or who find writing assignments aversive
(Graham, Harris, & Larsen, 2001; MacArthur, 2000). The task of writing a term
paper and other major assignments can be daunting for students with learning disabilities. Many give up before completing all of the steps necessary to produce a
final version: select a topic, generate and organize the content of their paper,
188
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
create drafts of the text, revise it, proofread it, edit it, and so on. However, print on
a computer screen is easier to see and read than print on paper. The spellchecker,
thesaurus, and grammar correction functions available on most word processing
programs are a big help to those struggling to get a term paper written. A written
paper produced on a computer is more attractive than the often-messy product of
students with poor handwriting and visual organizational skills. Many features of
word processing programs (e.g., table features, tracking for editing, word predictions) help students improve both the quality and the quantity of their writing
(Bryant & Bryant, 2003). The computer can also facilitate collaboration between
students, making it easier for two or more students to work together on a writing
task. Advances in software and hardware can help students with learning disabilities
compensate for their learning challenges. However, teachers and parents must
beware: Not all software is equally useful, and not all of it has been carefully evaluated (Higgins, Boone, & Williams, 2000).
Transition
Many adults with learning disabilities have productive careers and are highly successful, but too often people with this disability struggle to realize their potential.
Clearly, the experiences of adults with learning disabilities are as varied as the population itself. What we know is that despite individual success stories, there is room
for a lot of improvement. One key to positive results is postsecondary education.
Let’s first consider the outcomes of adults and then turn our attention to how postsecondary educational experiences can make a real difference in the lives of these
individuals.
Adult Outcomes
Remember the story you read in this chapter’s “Making a Difference” section about
Charles Schwab, the founder of the discount stock brokerage firm. He is not the
only billionaire with learning disabilities (Jones, 2003). Richard Branson, a British
entrepreneur whose first business was a mail-order record sales company and whose
second business was Virgin Music (a highly successful recording studio), is probably best known in the United States as the founder of the Virgin Atlantic Air, the
discount airline. Less well known is that Branson had a reading disability and
reports that he continues to struggle with spelling (Branson, 1998). Another billionaire with reading disabilities is Craig McCaw, who is often credited with pioneering the nation’s wireless (cell phone) communications systems (Academy of
Achievement, 2005). These highly successful businessmen are not the only individuals who have been able to overcome or compensate for their problems. For example, several present-day celebrities—Cher, Magic Johnson, Brook Theiss, Bruce
Jenner, and Greg Louganis, among others—have acknowledged having a learning
disability. And Stephen Cannell, a prolific TV writer and producer (The Rockford
Files, The A-Team, Hunter) and author, has learning disabilities (Cannell, 1999).
Success stories also are told about individuals from previous times presumed by
many to have had learning disabilities. Debate continues, for example, about
whether Hans Christian Andersen and Albert Einstein had the condition (Aaron,
Phillips, & Larsen, 1988; Kihl, Gregersen, & Sterum, 2000; Thomas, 2000). And
many are convinced that Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Nelson Rockefeller,
and President Woodrow Wilson had learning disabilities.
For most adults with learning disabilities, being rich or famous is not in their
futures, but being happy and productive should be a goal for each of them. For
many adults with learning disabilities, life is complicated by problems that began in
early childhood. Even those individuals who compete well in college often report
persistent problems with reading and writing (Wilson & Lesaux, 2001). Many
www.mylabschool.com
• Transition
189
explain that they have difficulty understanding what they read, retaining
information, and reading quickly enough to feel effective in daily life
(Shessel & Reiff, 1999). As you have learned throughout this book so far,
validated practices used today bring about great improvements in performance. In fact, the use of these effective teaching tactics may well be
one reason why high school graduation rates and college attendance
rates have increased for these individuals. More and more adults with
learning disabilities are college graduates, earn the same wages as their
coworkers without disabilities, and report high satisfaction with their
jobs (Madaus et al., 2003).
It is important for teachers to recognize that improved academic
performance is not the only answer to better outcomes for these individuals. Teachers can help students master additional sets of important
life skills, such as self-advocacy and self-regulation. For example, selfadvocacy—being able to explain what accommodations help improve
performance and to ask for them—can make a real difference at school,
in the workplace, and for life in general (Gerber & Price, 2003).
Learning how to advocate effectively for oneself is not always easy. It
requires the individual to truly understand the problem that needs to be
addressed, what accommodation helps to overcome the challenge, and
how and when that accommodation should be put into effect. And the
individual needs to be able to discuss the problem and potential soluAttending college is becoming a reality
tions in a positive, nonthreatening manner. Employers, particularly in
for more and more students with learning
disabilities, and what a difference this
this age of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), report that they
experience can make in their lives.
would like to know how to help their employees with disabilities perform optimally, but too often they don’t even know that they have hired
a person with a learning disability. The reason for this is that many workers with
learning disabilities believe they face discrimination on the job, and they fear that
revealing their disability to their employers will result in negative consequences
(Dickinson & Verbeek, 2002). These beliefs may stem from their insecurities, negative self-concepts, and internalized assumptions about being “dumb” because they
were unable to compete successfully during their school years. Teachers can help
replace this negative thinking with the pride that comes from setting and attaining
goals. They can also help their students understand and explain, to employers and
others, the challenges their learning disabilities present and which accommodations actually reduce their impact.
Workers with learning disabilities who have college degrees earn substantially
more than those who did not receive postsecondary degrees (Madaus et al., 2003).
Among these college graduates, two important factors lead to success and job satisfaction. First, those workers who use accommodations at work have high job satisfaction. Second, college graduates with learning disabilities who like their jobs
indicate that they use self-regulation techniques—strategies that help them be
independent, such as setting goals for themselves and using time effectively. This
information should help teachers decide which additional curriculum targets are
self-advocacy Capacity to
important for middle school and high school students with learning disabilities.
understand, ask for, and explain
Helping more of these individuals transition to postsecondary education is clearly
one’s need for accommodations
a promising way to improve their quality of life and success as adults. Let’s consider
these issues next.
self-regulation Managing
Postsecondary Options
Although the number of college students and graduates with learning disabilities is
increasing, the number could be far greater (Sitlington, 2003). Many individuals
with learning disabilities believe that postsecondary education—educational
opportunities beyond high school—is not an option for them because they did not
complete high school. Whereas the high school graduation rate for all of America’s
students is 72 percent, it is 62 percent for those with learning disabilities; the other
one’s own behaviors through goal
setting, time management, selfreinforcement, and other selfmanagement techniques
postsecondary education
Educational opportunities beyond
high school; two-year or fouryear colleges and universities
190
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
28 percent drop out of high school (National Center for Educational
Statistics [NCES], 2003; U.S. Department of Education, 2002). However,
for both those who are high school graduates and those who are not, college attendance is now more of a possibility. Although entrance requirements vary greatly from college to college, many community colleges do
not require their students to have a high school diploma or even a graduation equivalence diploma or certificate (GED) (Savukinas, 2002). And
some colleges even have a separate admissions route for students with
disabilities (Madaus, 2005). Today the ADA also helps students with disabilities once they are admitted. The law makes it quite clear: Students
with disabilities must have access to postsecondary education, and colleges and universities must make reasonable accommodations to ensure
such access (Simon, 2001). However, supports and services vary greatly.
The offices of disability services at some colleges and universities have
large staffs that offer many different services (e.g., tutoring, study
groups, instruction about time management, coordination of testing
accommodations), but other such offices may have only one staff memCartoon by Mike Lynch. Reprinted by permission.
ber who provides help in locating interpreters for the deaf, in obtaining
e-textbooks, or arranging for testing accommodations (Block, 2005).
More and more people with disabilities are taking advantage of 2-year and
4-year postsecondary educational opportunities. In 1978 only 3 percent of college
first-year students reported having a disability, whereas in 1998 some 9 percent of
all undergraduates reported that they have a disability. Of those, 11 percent indicated that they had learning disabilities (the largest group—29 percent—of college students with disabilities were those with physical impairments). However,
over half (51 percent) of all college students with disabilities who asked for
accommodations were students with learning disabilities (NCES, 2003). Clearly,
learning self-regulation and self-advocacy skills in high school are generalizing
to the postsecondary experience and yielding success that is seen later in the
workplace!
What supports and accommodations are becoming more widely available to
assist students during their college experience? Here are some recommended by
parents and professionals in this area (Mull, Sitlington, & Alper, 2001; Ofiesh,
Hughes, & Scott, 2004):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alternative exam formats
Extended time
Electronic versions of textbooks
Tutors
Readers, classroom notetakers, or scribes
Registration assistance, priority class registration, course substitutions
Adaptive equipment and technology (phonetic spellcheckers, hand-held
organizers)
Flexible course schedules
Some college graduates with learning disabilities have some additional recommendations to help others succeed (Mooney & Cole, 2000). One important tip
is to get organized: Every notebook should have a return address, backpacks and
notebooks need a consistent “home” or place to be stored, notes and notebooks
should be reorganized weekly, and mental checklists should be completed at the
end of every class (“Do I have all of my stuff?” “Did I leave anything under the
seat?” Middle school and high school teachers can help students master these selfmanagement skills before they enter college. Because attending college is often a
family decision, we continue this conversation about students with learning disabilities and postsecondary experiences in the section Partnerships with Families
and Communities.
www.mylabschool.com
• Collaboration
Collaboration
More than ever before, the importance of general education professionals working
closely with specialists in learning disabilities is self-evident. Two major shifts in
practice make real partnerships a necessity:
• The inclusion of more and more students with learning disabilities in the
general education classroom
• The increased role of general education teachers in the pre-referral
process and the multilevel, RTI identification system for students with
learning disabilities (review this chapter’s Assessment section)
Before considering these growing realities in today’s classrooms, let’s examine
the concept of collaboration and what it takes to make it work. Collaboration—
educators with different areas of expertise working in partnerships—is one key to
the development of successful educational experiences for students who are difficult to teach (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). “True” collaboration blooms when certain
important conditions exist:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Communication is open and ongoing.
Participation is voluntary.
Parity exists in the relationship.
Goals are shared.
Evaluation of student performance is continual.
Decision making is done as a team.
Resources are pooled.
Trust and respect are the basis of the partnership.
Planning time is scheduled.
In such collaborative settings, all students profit. General education students benefit from the unique expertise of the special educator, and students with disabilities
find the general education classroom responsive to their learning needs.
Are there many opportunities for collaboration among special and general
education professionals? The answer is “yes!” It is particularly true for students
with learning disabilities. As you will recall, they represent nearly half of all students identified by the schools as having a disability and thus qualifying for special education services. And, almost all of them spend almost 80 percent of their
school day in the general education classroom, accessing the general education
curriculum. In fact, fewer resource rooms are in operation today than some 15
years ago. In 1988–89, 58 percent of students with learning disabilities received
special education services through resource room arrangements; in 1999–2000,
that figure had dropped to 37 percent (U.S. Department of Education, 1991,
2005a). As the number of resource rooms is declining, however, the size of these
classes is increasing to levels that sometimes exceed the general education class
size (Moody et al., 2000). Therefore, special and general education teachers
must forge effective partnerships to deliver an appropriate education to these
students.
Even with the best collaborative efforts, however, some students with learning
disabilities need more intensive instruction than can be offered in the general education setting (Deshler et al., 2001). Sometimes, to actually master a learning strategy, these students need many opportunities for individualized instruction,
repeated practice, feedback from the instructor, and extra time to become independent in the learning strategy’s use. Often, this instruction needs to be delivered
191
192
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Considering Culture
Service Challenges in College Learning Disabilities
ll eyes in the family are on Alan. He is to be the
first member of the family to go to college. His
parents have worked hard all of their lives for
this moment, and they are so proud that Alan was admitted to the premier university in the state. Their words of
advice as he trundled off to his new experience were to
“always work hard and make your family proud!” But his
first semester at college has been a learning experience
in more ways than one! Alan has alternately been
thrilled to be in college, and totally disheartened and
determined to drop out of college and get a job. He
often laments, “Why does this have to be so hard! Why is
it happening to me now? How can I face my family? I
can’t tell them that I need ‘special help’ in college!”
Alan reflects on the support he had in high school.
There his teachers did so much to help him, because he
was identified as having learning disabilities and he had
an IEP. He typically was allowed more time on tests, his
teachers reviewed notes with him and worked with him
individually, and at times they gave him optional assignments. He also received individualized coaching on study
skills. His grades were excellent. In fact, in his senior year
when he told a friend that he had learning disabilities,
she exclaimed, “How can that be? You’re so smart!”
But college was a whole different ballgame. No one
seemed to care. He was truly on his own. At the advice of
classmates in his dorm, he signed up for a linguistics class
that freshmen often took. He floundered. Learning the
phonetic alphabet was not his cup of tea! His academic
A
world seemed to be falling apart. But then his life turned
around when one of his professors suggested that he work
with the campus Office for Students with Disabilities.
What a difference that made! The staff there helped him
find notetakers for classes, encouraged him to use computers in class as needed, and helped him get approval to
have more time for tests. They even worked with him to
find an alternative to fulfill the university’s foreign language requirement. He also learned to screen classes and
then select those that best suited his learning style.
Questions to Consider
1 Think about your family’s expectations for your
development and your future. What cultural values,
beliefs, and events in your family’s history have you
internalized and have probably played a role in your
goal setting? (Some of these may be so subtle that
they are difficult to identify.)
2 We often think that cultural issues apply only to
people who speak a language other than English or
who were not born in this country. What are some
primary values inherent in the majority culture?
How are these enacted in our educational systems?
— By Eleanor Lynch, San Diego State University, and
Marci Hanson, San Francisco State University
by a specialist. Once the skill or strategy is mastered, the student can apply it in the
general education classroom. Here again, the general education and special education teachers must work closely together to be sure the student actually uses this
new information appropriately within the general education content and curriculum. Students who have difficulty transferring knowledge and information to other
settings and situations require extra supports from their teachers working as a
team. Here’s how teachers can help students generalize the application of a study
strategy, such as RAP, to a general education science class—and also help students
take more responsibility for managing their own instructional programs: The special education teacher explains the RAP strategy to the science teacher and asks the
science teacher (1) to remind the student to apply the strategy while studying and
(2) to check to be sure that the student is using RAP correctly. The special education teacher then teaches the student to keep a record of the times he or she used
the strategy. Finally, the teacher rewards the student for improved performance in
science class.
• Partnerships with Families and Communities
www.mylabschool.com
Partnerships with Families and Communities
So many issues are important to families of individuals with disabilities.
Throughout this book we highlight many concerns unique to these parents and
families. In this chapter, we briefly discuss two issues that on the surface do not
seem to be uniquely pertinent to individuals with learning disabilities. But recently
they have taken on greater importance to such students. As you have just learned,
more and more students with learning disabilities are continuing their educational
careers on through the postsecondary years. College selection decisions are a
major event for most of us, but if you have learning disabilities, picking the right
college is often the key to becoming a graduate. Also, with the ever-increasing
inclusion of students with disabilities in general education programs, and with
more and more expectations for students with learning disabilities to access the
general education curriculum, homework has taken on greater meaning for these
students. We will examine both of these issues, first turning our attention to the
developing (and changing) partnership between parents and their children with
learning disabilities in selecting the “right” college and then turning our attention
to homework.
College Selection
Leaving high school can be a troubling time for both the individual with learning
disabilities and her or his family (Madaus, 2005). In high school, students have IEPs
to guide the delivery of their educational programs and supportive services. There
is no IEP for college. In high school, students’ teachers often seek them out; such
is not the case in the typical college experience. Flexibility and freedom of choice
can be almost overwhelming, and as you will read in Considering Culture, they can be
significant issues for many families of these students.
For all students, picking the right college is one key to a successful outcome.
College can be a more positive experience for students with learning disabilities
if they plan ahead while in high school and choose a college carefully (Shaw,
2005). Many students with learning disabilities elect to attend community colleges close to their homes, where they can continue to receive support from their
families, test out their success with college coursework, attend smaller classes, and
shift to either a technical program or a bachelor’s degree program later
(Brinckerhoff, 2005).
Any individual who wants to enter a 4-year college as a first-year student
should visit different college campuses, investigate what support services are
offered, and meet with college staff. Attending special summer programs or taking a college class can help sharpen study skills and time management skills—a
problem that plagues most first-year students, not just those with learning disabilities. Issues related to selecting the “right” college are not the exclusive concern of those with learning disabilities, but such individuals do have more factors
to weigh (Lissner, 2005).
Like everyone thinking about attending college, these questions must be
considered:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Does the school have the right academic programs?
Where is the school located?
What are its admissions standards?
How big is the overall student body, and how large are the typical introductory courses?
Does the school have extracurricular programs? The right ones?
How much are tuition and fees, along with other costs?
193
194
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
tips
for Effective
Teaching
ASSIGNING AND ADAPTING HOMEWORK
1 Make sure students can complete the home-work
assignment.
2 Write the assignment on the board.
3 Explain the assignment carefully.
4 Remind students of the due date periodically.
5 Coordinate with other teachers to avoid homework
overload.
6 Establish with parents and other teachers a standard policy about late and missed assignments.
7 Provide additional one-on-one assistance.
8 Allow for alternative formats (audio taping rather
than written assignments) or the use of learning
tools (calculators, word processing, diagrams and
charts).
9 Adjust assignment length.
10 Provide access to a peer tutor.
For students with learning disabilities, these additional
questions should be considered:
• How comprehensive is the school’s office of disabilities?
• What types of supports and services are offered?
• What supports and services do I need for success?
As we mentioned in the Transition section of this chapter,
the range of services available through the office of disability
services at different colleges varies greatly. One way for potential applicants to find out what services are available is to analyze each school of interest. Many different software programs
and college directories are available to help with this task.
Once decisions are made about the types of supports needed,
possible academic majors or career training programs, and
location, many more issues need to be discussed. For example, costs are always important to families as they make decisions about which college is right for their child. Few scholarships are available for students with disabilities, and
sometimes college costs are higher (Brinckerhoff, 2005). But
many colleges and universities—including Stanford, the
University of Connecticut, the University of North
Carolina–Chapel Hill, and the University of Georgia—now
offer comprehensive supports and services particularly
designed for their students with learning disabilities. Such
Source: Adapted from “Homework Practices That Support
Students with Disabilities” by B. Bursuck, M. Montague, and S.
services might include faculty who have received special trainVaughn, 2001 Spring, Research Connections in Special Education, 8,
ing about accommodations, tutoring, learning strategy
pp. 2–3 (ERIC/CEC).
instruction, frequent monitoring of student progress, and
summer transition programs (the summer before the first
year begins). However, there are usually a limited number of slots for such special
programs, so they require special application and also come at extra cost. For many
students with learning disabilities, it is the partnership they create with the staff at
their college’s office of disability services that makes success in postsecondary education more easily achieved.
Many variables need to be considered, but one thing is clear: Preparation to
go to college must begin early in students’ academic careers. In elementary
school they learn the fundamentals on which future learning will be based. In
middle school they begin being independent learners, and in high school they
learn the basic content and skills they will need to succeed when they experience
the freedom and challenges of college. One mechanism used to help students
learn to study on their own is homework. So let’s consider this important component of the general education curriculum.
Homework
Homework is a time-honored component of the general education program. It is
intended to help students become independent learners. Homework also serves as
one communication tool to keep parents informed both about the work being
done at school and about their child’s progress in the curriculum (Bursuck,
Montague, & Vaughn, 2001). However, the word homework can strike terror into the
parents of students with learning disabilities—and probably into the children as
well. The mere mention of the word may revive memories of long, unpleasant
nights spent cajoling a student with learning disabilities into completing unfinished
assignments. Such nights often end in shouting matches between parent and child,
sometimes with one or both in tears.
Homework is a reality of school life, and teachers can make homework a more
positive experience by making certain that students know how to do the assign-
www.mylabschool.com
• Partnerships with Families and Communities
195
ment. Tips for Effective Teaching provides some guidelines that teachers can follow
to get more benefits from assigning homework and even use it to forge an
improved partnership with families. When homework assignments are considered
carefully, with planning and instruction, the benefits can be many.
Despite the negative situations that homework can create for the family, it
accounts for about 20 percent of the time most children spend on academic tasks
(Bryan & Sullivan-Burstein, 1998). Although many students and their parents
would like to see homework “just go away,” it is unlikely that homework will be discontinued. General education teachers place great importance on homework.
They consider homework to be a serious part of the instructional program and
also to provide opportunities for home–school communication. Many teachers
believe that when homework is not completed, parents have not met their expectations (Epstein et al., 1997). How might communication between teachers and
parents about homework improve? Research has yielded some guidelines
(Jayanthi et al., 1997):
• Parents and teachers need to communicate more about homework, with
both parties feeling free to initiate the conversation.
• Parents need to tell teachers about homework difficulties.
• Teachers need to tell parents about the quality and completion of homework assignments.
• Parents need to implement consequences when homework is not completed or is unsatisfactory.
• Parents need to know whom to contact at school about homework issues.
• Teachers need to find ways to communicate with parents who do not speak
English.
• Teachers need to determine alternative ways for children to get assistance
with homework assignments that their parents do not know how to help
them complete.
where
expectations
are fulfilled . . .
196
Chapter 5 • Learning Disabilities
Summary
Individuals with learning disabilities do not learn in the
same way or at the same pace as their classmates without
disabilities. These students are resistant to treatment,
and they often do not learn along with their classmates
through validated instructional practices used in general
education classes. They require sustained, intensive, and
explicit instruction to succeed. Students with learning
disabilities are often characterized as having unexpected
underachievement because their academic performance
does not match their potential or what their other abilities would lead one to expect. Reading/learning disabilities are the most common type of this disability. These
students are very different from each other in characteristics, learning preferences, and the accommodations
they require to access the general education curriculum
and to acquire basic skills needed for content instruction. New methods for pre-referral assessments and multitiered interventions are being implemented to avoid
the long periods of instructional inaction that resulted
from traditional identification procedures. When taught
by highly qualified teachers who can effectively apply
interventions validated by research, these students make
substantial progress, and many overcome their learning
challenges.
Addressing the Chapter Objectives
1 What are the key features of the current federal definition of learning disabilities?
• Involves one or more of the psychological processes
needed to understand or use spoken or written
language
• May result from central nervous system dysfunctions
• Can result in problems listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or computing
• Excludes students whose primary problems are due
to visual disabilities, hearing impairments, physical
disabilities, mental retardation, behavioral or emotional disorders, cultural or linguistic diversity, or
poverty
2 What are the different types of learning disabilities?
• General unexpected underachievement: overall low academic performance, general school failure
• Reading/learning disabilities: reading performance is
both below that of classmates and below what is
expected on the basis of the student’s other abilities; most common type of learning disabilities
• Mathematics/learning disabilities: mathematics performance is both below that of classmates and
below what is expected on the basis of the student’s
other abilities; most often co-occurs with
reading/learning disabilities
• Resistant to treatment: nonresponsive to standard
instruction in the general education classroom;
requiring sustained, intensive, explicit instruction
that is monitored for progress frequently
3 How is an individual’s response to intervention (RTI)
assessed?
Through the pre-referral process, four general steps
are followed:
• All students experience universal screen in the fall
of every school year.
• Those students exhibiting a level of skills that puts
•
•
them at risk for school failure are identified for
intervention.
General educators, peer tutors, or paraprofessionals
deliver increasing levels of intensive and individualized instruction to those students who continue to
perform unsatisfactorily.
Students who do not learn sufficiently after experiencing at least three tiers of multilevel intervention
are either referred for special education assessment
or identified as having learning disabilities
(depending on each state’s regulations).
4 What is the practice of “early intervening,” and why
does it hold great promise?
Early intervening:
• Is allowed by IDEA ’04, but funds meant to provide
services to students with disabilities cannot be used
for these activities
• Provides more intensive instruction to all students
who are not profiting from instruction being provided in the general education classroom, whether
they have disabilities, are at risk, or are struggling
learners
Benefits of early intervening and RTI:
• No delay in receiving intervention
• Reduced inappropriate referrals to special education
• Eliminates poor teaching as a reason for disabilities
• Assessment directly leads to instruction
• No stigma in being referred to special education
because all students are universally screened
• Low achievement is distinguished by learning
disabilities
• Supplementary Resources
www.mylabschool.com
5 What are two validated practices that are effective
with students with learning disabilities, and how do
they work?
Two of the many validated practices that have proved
effective with students with learning disabilities are
Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) and the
Kansas Learning Strategies Curriculum.
The key features of PALS:
• Peer tutoring
• Coaches and players exchange turns during each
session
• Students are trained in the method of instruction,
their roles, and how to provide corrective feedback
• Pairs are exchanged every month
• Pairs work together on specific assignments (e.g.,
sight words, math facts)
The key features of the Learning Strategies
Curriculum:
• Developed for middle school and high school students with disabilities
• Goes beyond crisis teaching
197
• Helps students become strategic learners
• Incorporates mnenomics, advance organizers, and
structured materials with measures for monitoring
progress
MyLabSchool is a collection of online tools for your success
in this course, your licensure exams, and your teaching
career. Visit www.mylabschool.com to access the following:
• Online Study Guide
• Video cases from real classrooms
• Help with your research papers using Research
Navigator
• Career Center with resources for:
• Praxis exams and licensure preparation
• Professional portfolio development
• Job search and interview techniques
• Lesson planning
Supplementary Resources
Popular Novels and Books
Branson, R. (1998). Losing my virginity. New York: Three
Rivers Press, Random House.
Brown, C. (1965). Manchild in the promised land. New
York: Macmillan.
Louganis, G., & Marcus, E. (1996). Breaking the surface.
New York: Random House.
Mooney, J., & Cole, D. (2000). Learning outside the lines.
New York: Simon & Schuster.
Moss, P. B. (1989). An autobiography: P. Buckley Moss: The
people’s artist. Waynesboro, VA: Shenandoah Heritage.
Sacks, O. (1985). The man who mistook his wife for a hat.
New York: Summit Books.
Movies
Summer School (1987). Paramount
This light-hearted comedy is about a number of students
forced to attend summer school as a consequence of
their poor academic performance during the school year.
After wasting much of the summer term, in fear of failure
and of costing their teacher his job, the students make a
tremendous effort on their final exam.
One student in the class has reading disabilities, and
even though this film is a comedy, it provides an example of how a student with a significant learning disability
can slip through the cracks of the educational system.
The film shows how not receiving specialized services
can affect such students’ confidence and why they fall
further behind. The film also shows that once a learning
disability is recognized, individualized instruction can
aid students.
Professional, Parent, and Advocacy Groups
Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) in Overland
Park, Kansas
www.cldinternational.org
Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) Council for
Exceptional Children in Arlington, Virginia
www.cec.sped.org or www.teachingld.org
Learning Disability Association of America (LDA)
(formerly the Association for Children with Learning
Disabilities [ACLD]) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.ldanatl.org
National Center for LD (NCLD) in New York City
www.ncld.org
LD OnLine in Washington, DC
www.ldonline.org
Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation in San
Mateo, California
www.schwablearning.org and www.sparktop.org
198
Professional Standards and Licensure Tests
After reading this chapter, you should be able to link basic knowledge and skills described in the CEC Standards and
INTASC Principles with information provided in this text. The table below shows some of the specific CEC Learning
Disabilities Knowledge and Skill Standards and INTASC Special Education Principles that can be applied to each major
section of the chapter. Other standards may also be applied to this chapter. Associated General Praxis II topic areas are
identified in the right column.
Major Chapter Headings
CEC Knowledge and Skill
Core Standard and
Associated Subcategories
INTASC Core Principle and
Associated Special
Education Subcategories
PRAXIS II Exam Topic
Where We’ve Been … What’s on the
Horizon?
1: Foundations
LD1K1 Historical foundations, classical studies, and major contributors
in the field of learning disabilities
1: Subject Matter
1.13 Special education teachers know
major trends and issues that define
the history of special education and
understand how current legislation
and recommended practice fit within
the contact of this history.
1: Understanding Exceptionality
Learning Disabilities Defined
1: Foundations
LD1K5 Current definitions and issues
related to the identification of individuals with learning disabilities
1: Subject Matter
1.12 Special education teachers
serve as a resource to others by providing information about the laws
and policies that support students
with disabilities and how to access
additional information when needed.
1: Understanding Exceptionality
Characteristics
2: Development and
Characteristics of Learners
LD2K3 Psychological, social, and
emotional characteristics of individuals with learning disabilities
2: Student Learning
2.07 Special education teachers
seek to understand the current and
evolving development and learning
of individual students from a lifespan perspective.
1: Understanding Exceptionality
Causes and Prevention
2: Development and
Characteristics of Learners
LD2K1 Etiologies of learning
disabilities
2: Student Learning
2.08 Special education teachers
seek a holistic understanding of
each student’s current learning and
development, based on knowledge
of the student’s performance within
a variety of settings.
1: Understanding Exceptionality
2: Legal and Social Issues
2: Legal and Social Issues
2: Legal and Social Issues
Assessment
8: Assessment
LD8S1 Choose and administer
assessment instruments appropriate
to the individual with learning
disabilities
8: Assessment
8.06 All special education teachers
understand how to administer, score,
interpret, and report on formal and
informal assessments related to their
areas of specialization.
1: Understanding Exceptionality
Teaching Students with Learning
Disabilities
4: Instructional Strategies
LD4S9 Implement systematic
instruction in teaching reading
comprehension and monitoring
strategies
4: Instructional Strategies
4.11 Special education teachers
collaborate with general education
teachers to infuse individualized
goals and specialized strategies
into instruction for students with
disabilities.
3: Delivery of Services to Students
Transition
5: Learning Environments and
Social Interactions
LD5S1 Plan instruction for independent functional life skills relevant to the community, personal
living, sexuality, and employment
7: Planning Instruction
7.07 Special education teachers
oversee the development of individualized transition plans to guide
learners’ transitions from preschool
to elementary school, middle school
to high school, and high school to
postschool opportunities.
3: Delivery of Services to Students
Collaboration
10: Collaboration
LD10K1 Co-planning and co-teaching methods to strengthen content
acquisition of individuals with
learning disabilities
10: Collaboration, Ethics, and
Relationships
10.05 All special education teachers
provide leadership that enables
teams to accomplish their purposes.
2: Legal and Social Issues
10: Collaboration
LD10K2 Services, networks, and
organizations that provide support
across the life span for individuals
with learning disabilities
10: Collaboration, Ethics, and
Relationships
10.06 Special education teachers
take a life span view of students
with disabilities and use their
knowledge of disabilities, legislation, special education services, and
instructional strategies to ensure
implementation of each student’s
individual education program.
1: Understanding Exceptionality
Partnerships with Families and
Communities
3: Delivery of Services to Students
3: Delivery of Services to Students
2: Legal and Social Issues
3: Delivery of Services to Students
199